


Asunder

by SilentRain91



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alex Danvers & Lena Luthor Friendship, Alex/Sam brotp, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, F/F, Fix-It, Friendship, Friendship / Flirting / Thinking of You Fest, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer, Protective Sam Arias, Sam Arias needs a hug, starts after Lena figures out whats wrong with Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:12:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentRain91/pseuds/SilentRain91
Summary: Lena sets Sam free and in the process of taking care of her, they find there is something more between them, but are they willing to admit it?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story picks up after Lena told Sam she knew what was wrong with her. During the first chapter, Kara is not really likable, just so you know.

The wheels in Sam’s head were turning while she followed Lena down to a private lab of L-Corp. She had a feeling something was severely wrong with her for Lena to take her to the hidden part of L-Corp, a part she had never set foot in before. The pass she had didn’t even allow access to this part and the number wasn’t even included in one of the buttons of the elevator.

Lena’s heels clicked on the floor as the doors of the elevator swooshed open. Rather than pushing a button, she had told the elevator to take her down to what she called ground zero. It was a secret lab built underneath L-Corp, twenty stories low. Nobody knew her elevator accepted her voice commands, though Sam surely knew now, but that was okay.

Lena could live with Sam knowing because Sam was her friend, a friend whom needed help. The kind of help others had failed to provide and she would be damned if she were to let her best friend down. No, she was going to save Sam so she could return home to her daughter alive and well.

Sam watched as lights flicked on while they walked down a hall. They must have been built with a sensor to trigger them to go on the moment someone walked by. Save from the lights, it was quite dark. There were no windows and the floor wasn’t squeaky clean as it was in the rest of the L-Corp building.

“It’s a little dusty in here,” Lena said, trying not to cough. She pressed her thumb against a scanner, to which a thick metal door clicked open.

“Are you sure you can help me?”

Sam hadn’t meant to sound so skeptical, but so far nobody had been able to help her or to even find out what was wrong with her. She was close to give up hope and accept she was beyond help, but that spark of hope in Lena’s green eyes didn’t let her do that. Alex had tried to help her before, which led nowhere when her blood results returned as normal, though she appreciated Alex tried. She was cautious when it came to holding on to hope, knowing how easily her hope could be crushed.

“I believe I can,” Lena answered, sounding surer of that than she felt. At the very least, she would die trying to help her friend. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you,” Sam answered without missing a beat. She knew Lena, knew what a good person she was. “You’re not secretly a surgeon, are you?” she asked, chuckling as she laid eyes upon a large needle Lena reached for.

Lena said nothing while she approached Sam. “This will hurt, I’m sorry.”

Sam didn’t get to ask any further questions or the chance to say anything. She felt the needle jab into her arm. Her vision grew blurry and then everything went black.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Sam,” Lena said softly, shaking her friend’s shoulder. “Sam, wake up.”

“Sam, come back. Come back to me.”

“Sam.”

“Sam, come back.”

“Sam…Sam.”

Sam’s head was hurting. She kept hearing Lena calling her name, telling her to wake up and to come back. She would have even sworn Lena said something about coming back to her, but she felt as if she hit her head on concrete and cracked open her skull.

“Sam.”

The panicky tone in Lena’s voice had Sam snap her eyes open. It was a mistake because the lights were too bright for her eyes right now, making her headache worse, causing her to groan. Whatever Lena had drugged her with didn’t feel like Advil or anything of the sorts. She was out cold before she had even hit the floor. Perhaps her headache had to do with a collision to the floor after she lost consciousness, a collision she couldn’t remember.

A loud noise cut through the brief silence.

Lena sighed and turned a button on a small device she held in her hand.

Sam followed the sound, gasping when she saw…well…herself, apparently. Someone who looked like her like two drops of water was locked up. “Wait…,” she said, studying her doppelganger. “Is that who I think it is?”

“Reign,” Lena confirmed with a nod. “She won’t be able to get out. I combined green kryptonite with gold to strip her from her powers. She can punch as much as she wants, it won’t be of any use.”

“I understand this must be confusing for you,” Lena continued while she handed Sam a bottle of water.

Sam needed that water, her throat was dry and raspy, and her tongue felt like sand paper. She must have passed out for quite some time.

Lena took a seat and calmly walked Sam through what she had done, how she used black kryptonite to separate her from Reign. She answered all of Sam’s questions as thoroughly as she could. Granted, she may have wanted to discuss her plan with Sam first, before handling impulsively, but after Reign had briefly shown herself in her office, she couldn’t risk wasting valuable time and risk Reign showing up before she could finalize her abrupt plan.

Sam struggled to believe she and Reign were the same, or well, obviously not the same, but it shocked her how all this time, she was the one harming so many people. She discovered she had powers and she knew her memories were lacking more often than not, but she never thought for even a second those missing pieces meant she was Reign.

“I’m sorry I stabbed you with a needle,” Lena said, not too happy she stabbed her friend with liquid kryptonite mixed with a powerful drug that made people sleep, or rather, a drug that could take out a horse.

Sam twisted the cap of the bottle, sighing when the water splashed all over her fingers.

“Reign is no longer a part of you, but you still have the same powers,” Lena cautioned, fetching tissues and a new bottle of water.

“I thought I could be a hero and all this time I was a monster.”

“No, Sam, that wasn’t you,” Lena replied, placing a finger under Sam’s chin. “You’re not a monster, you never were. Everything that Reign did, that wasn’t you.”

Lena twisted the cap from the bottle open and handed it to Sam. “Gently, don’t drink too fast,” she warned, cleaning up the water Sam spilled on the floor earlier.

Sam stared at Reign, who was smirking at her in such a devilish way it sent a shiver down her spine. All this time, the random amnesia wasn’t random and it wasn’t amnesia. She hurt so many people, including the police and even Supergirl, a woman whom she had deep respect for, a woman her daughter looked up to.

Lena could feel the guilt eating at Sam. “We’re going to get through this,” she said, covering Sam’s hand with her own. “I’ll be by your side every step of the way, that’s what friends are for.”

Sam didn’t dare squeeze Lena’s hand, worried she might break her hand. She tilted her head, hearing Lena’s heartbeat, thumping steadily. “Where is Ruby?”

“Still at my place,” Lena answered, seeing Sam tense up. “I went up a while ago, to get a signal, and I sent Alex a text to ask if she could go watch Ruby at my place.”

Sam relaxed a little, relieved to hear her daughter wasn’t alone. Ruby wasn’t a baby anymore, but she didn’t like it when her daughter was alone, especially not for hours. She had been out of it all day.

Lena wanted to help Sam up to her feet, but Sam wouldn’t even accept her outstretched hand. She saw the struggle in her friend’s eyes, the inner battle she was having with herself. “My driver can take us to my loft so you can see Ruby, though I do urge you to get rest as soon as possible. You’re more than welcome to take the guestroom at my loft.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“How could you keep this from me, Lena?”

Lena’s eyebrows went up, stunned and unpleasantly surprised by the disapproval as Kara spoke. “Sorry?” she asked, not quite following why Kara was upset with her when she handled to save a woman who was their mutual friend.

“Sorry is not good enough,” Kara bristled. She sighed and fixed her glasses. “Do you have any idea what Reign did to me? I mean, to Supergirl.”

“If you’re here to berate me about secrets, you may want to take a look in the mirror, Kara. Or is it Supergirl this time? It’s hard to tell sometimes. One moment you’re at odds with me when you’re being Supergirl and the next you’re Kara and you’re hugging me. You pretend to be two different people so often you became two different people.”

Kara’s jaw dropped.

“Shit,” Lena whispered, sighing deeply. “Kara, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yes you did,” Kara replied, looking so much like a kicked puppy. “So… you knew.”

“You told me you flew here on a bus and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Are you here to insult my intelligence?” Lena commented, nowhere near stupid enough not to know Kara was Supergirl. She was Lena Luthor for crying out loud, CEO of L-Corp at age twenty-four.

“Okay so you knew,” Kara concluded. “But that doesn’t change the fact this is different. You should have told me or Super-” she sighed when Lena raised an eyebrow at her. “You should have told me,” she backtracked. “Sam almost killed me.”

“That wasn’t Sam. That was Reign. She had no control over her actions as Reign.”

“How can you brush off her behavior and make up excuses for her? She broke my sister’s leg, left me for dead and killed many people. You should have told me when you found out the truth so I could have taken care of it with the DEO.”

“How exactly would you have helped her, Kara?” Lena asked, growing aggravated. She didn’t like Kara’s tone and attitude one bit while she usually held her friend in such high regard. “Sam is my friend – _our friend_ – and you talk as if you simply would have locked her up, or worse, killed her.”

“I had no idea how dangerous Sam was until now. She’s a threat to society. She...”

Lena stopped listening when Kara went off into a ramble that made zero sense. This narrow-minded person wasn’t the friend she remembered having. The Kara she knew was kind and would help Sam, not condemn her over Reign’s actions.

Matters worsened when James walked in, as if he gave himself a free pass to enter Lena’s office whenever he pleased doing so. It was bad enough when he whined about CatCo being somewhat his when it really wasn’t. Her name may not have been on the side of the CatCo building as it was on the side of the L-Corp building, but it was hers.

James opened up his mouth, spouting nonsense about how he knew Lena, addressing Kara as if Lena was some damsel in distress who needed saving.

“Jimmy, stop,” Lena said, sighing quietly. She was so tired of this. “I’ve never stood behind a man and I don’t plan on standing behind one now. I can speak for myself. Furthermore, I do not appreciate you talking as if you know me while you’ve hardly bothered to sit down to have a proper conversation with me. Lastly, this isn’t a motel. You cannot come and go as you please.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Lena continued, clearing her throat. “I want both of you to leave or I will have security remove you,” she said with a deadly serious tone.

As it was currently, Lena didn’t want to be near Kara and James. She felt as if she seriously needed to rethink the relationship she had with them. While they left, visibly disgruntled, she wondered if she just lost one of her best friends and the man she kissed a few times, though the latter wasn’t so much of a loss as the former. The only reason she ever gave James a chance was because others insisted they had chemistry. She didn’t see it and she most certainly didn’t feel it.

James may as well have pretended to be two people as well, aside from the Guardian aspect. Of course Lena knew James was Guardian. How dense did people think she was? It had recently been brought to her attention how much James had badmouthed her, before he out of nowhere flipped a switch and was suddenly into her, spouting nonsense about knowing her. It turned out he knew her no more than she knew him.

Lena’s list of people she could count on now only had Jess’ name and Sam’s.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“I want…no, I need to apologize for what I said. You were right, Lena,” Kara said, pacing around. “The things Reign did, that wasn’t Sam. She had no part in that and I understand that now. It took a while for me to have that sink in, but it has. I was out of line, acting as if Sam was some kind of threat when she’s just an innocent person who got caught up in this. To Reign, Sam must have been nothing more but a vessel. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Lena replied, and truly she was, for more than one reason. “I was out of line as well, when I accused you of being two-faced. You were trying to protect your identity.”

Kara nodded slowly. “I hope we can move past this so we can go back to being us,” she said, a hopeful glint in her eyes, but there was also a twinge of sadness swirling in those baby blues. “Back to having lunch together and talk and just…be friends.”

“Perhaps someday we can have that back, but not yet, not today and not tomorrow,” Lena said, sighing quietly. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to move past it, but she couldn’t act as if it didn’t happen and sweep it under the rug. There were wounds, wounds that needed to be licked and heal.

“I need time, Kara,” Lena said, hated seeing that hurt look on Kara’s face, as if she just told her that her puppy died. “What you said about Sam was harsh and while I do know you regret it now, I also know a part of you meant what you said. I care about Sam and all I want is to help her, to help her get her life back on track.”

There was a strange look on Kara’s face Lena couldn’t put her finger on, as if Kara was surprised by something or puzzling something together.

Kara cleared her throat. “Right, of course,” she agreed, nodding. “You’ve been a better friend to her than I have been. For what it’s worth, I have no doubt you mean a lot to her as well.”

Lena had a feeling Kara was acting strange, a little unlike herself, though this entire situation was nowhere near usual. “If that will be all, then?” she asked with a little urgency, though she kept her tone polite.

Lena was in a bit of a rush, considering she promised Sam she would take her to her loft today so she could see Ruby again. Alex had been kind enough to stay at her place with Ruby, even though it had been three days. Ruby had been asking about her mother and vice versa. She wanted to go down to her secret lab as soon as possible to check up on Sam. She would have taken Sam to her loft sooner, if it hadn’t been for the fact she lost consciousness not even half an hour after she came to.

“Yes,” Kara said, shifting from one foot onto the other. She looked at Lena like she wanted to hug her, but they both knew that wasn’t a good idea right now. “I’ll just uh…um,” she said, gesturing at the balcony, walking backwards towards it. “I appreciate that you were willing to hear me out. It means a lot, you mean a lot. And again, I’m really sorry. I would apologize to Sam personally, but I understand that’s probably a bad idea.”

Lena hadn’t even told Sam everything Kara had said, because how could she? Sam thought Kara was one of her friends and Sam still looked up to Supergirl. Sam was so consumed by guilt, if she were to hear what Kara/Supergirl said it would hit her like a ton of bricks.

Lena exited her office once Kara was gone, making a beeline for her elevator. She had promised Alex that once Sam was no longer where she kept her, she would share where she kept Reign locked up so Alex could bring her in to the DEO. She didn’t trust the DEO to go down to her lab just yet, not while Sam was there.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sam blinked her eyes several times. She could hear the lights, heard the electricity crackle through them. Being aware of the powers she had more than she was before felt crazy. A part of her wondered if this was all a drawn out dream she would wake up from eventually, although the Reign part made it a nightmare. She felt helpless, knowing she had so many blackouts, knowing now that it was Reign who took over.

Sam sat up on the bed she was on. It was different from her bed at home, smaller and it wasn’t a real bed. It was more of a mattress placed on a table. Lena did do her best to make it as comfortable as possible for her. She was grateful Lena didn’t tie her up and lock her up like some kind of lab rat.

Reign was slamming her fists against the wall of the cell she was locked up in. A layer of blood coated her hands, caused by her futile attempts to break free. Reign was no stronger than a human due to the green and gold kryptonite.

Sam shifted, always uncomfortable when Reign smirked at her in that devilish way that chilled her blood. It got worse when Reign talked about all the people she killed and hurt. She clasped her hands over her ears, desperately trying to drown out Reign’s voice.

The thick metal door opened.

Lena sauntered in. “That is enough from you,” she snapped at Reign, noticing Sam’s distress. “I will come in there and gag you, consider this your final warning.”

Sam leapt out of bed when she heard Reign say Lena should enter her cell so she could snap her neck.

“Sam,” Lena said, placing a hand on Sam’s back.

Sam took a deep breath, distracted from her anger by Lena’s soft voice.

“She is trying to rile you up,” Lena whispered.

Sam hated that Reign was getting under her skin. She hated the way Reign spoke of all the ways Lena could be killed at her hands, hated how Reign was saying how they could team up and get rid of nuisances while the only nuisance here was Reign.

“Don’t go in her cell, no matter what she says,” Sam said to Lena, facing away from Reign. “I know you stripped her of her powers, but I don’t trust her and I don’t want her near you. You’re my best friend.”

“I won’t go in her cell,” Lena replied, if only to ease Sam’s mind. “I need you to sit down for a moment so I can check your vitals, okay?”

Sam’s face lit up a little. She was feeling better, physically, so she should be good to see her daughter soon. She walked back to the bed and sat down.

Lena clicked the side of a pen that worked like a small flashlight. “Okay, follow my finger,” she said, moving her index finger slowly to the left and the right, watching as Sam followed her finger. “How does your head feel?”

“Better,” Sam answered, and really it did. She no longer felt as if her skull was being cracked open.

Lena was glad to hear that. The sunlamps she installed must have had the wanted effect then. She clicked the side of the pen again and put it aside, reaching for a small hammer.

Sam raised an eyebrow when Lena tapped the hammer against her knee. “I’m not going to kick my leg for that, that’s far too gentle,” she said, half-amused but also finding it sweet Lena was being so gentle with her. “If you still feel guilty about the needle ordeal, don’t. You did what you had to do and you saved my life.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up, perplexed Sam read her like a book. Of course she felt guilty about stabbing her with that needle. That ought to have hurt. She put the hammer aside and opened her arms.

Sam shook her head.

“You can do it, Sam,” Lena said with an encouraging nod. “I believe in you.”

Sam’s breath caught at Lena’s honest admission. Lena might have believed in her, but she didn’t believe in herself. “I’ll break you,” she said, keeping her hands at her sides, resting on the bed.

“You won’t,” Lena replied, putting her arms around Sam, slowly. “I trust you, you got this.”

“How can you trust me after everything I did?” Sam asked, dumbfounded Lena was willing to trust her blindly. “I’m a monster.”

“You’re not a monster just because you had a monster inside of you, Sam. You’re my best friend, you’re a good person. I trust you, I believe in you and nothing can change that.”

Sam exhaled and wound her arms around Lena’s waist, barely holding her, barely hugging her back.

“That’s it, you can do this,” Lena whispered, hugging Sam a little tighter. “Breathe, Sam, you got this. You can hug me a little firmer, you won’t break me, I promise.”

Sam wished she didn’t have to worry about her strength so she could hug Lena as tightly as she could. She needed the kind of hug that made it hard to breathe, but the only person who could handle that kind of hug was Supergirl and after everything she did, Supergirl might hate her. The only people she generally hugged were her daughter and her friends.

Lena caressed Sam’s back when she heard her cry. She felt Sam’s arms tighten, bordering on uncomfortable, but she didn’t let go.

 

 

* * *

 

 

By the time Sam and Lena arrived at Lena’s loft, it was dark out and it was nearing midnight. Going to Lena’s loft took longer than anticipated because of an incident with Reign.

Lena had no idea what Reign said that had Sam lose it, because to her it was nothing more than mouthed words. She had seen Reign’s lips move, but whatever she said was too silent for her ears and was clearly meant for Sam. What she did know was that one moment, she was checking Sam’s vitals and the next Sam was glaring at Reign, who was mouthing words.

It went downhill after that. In the blink of an eye, Sam had entered Reign’s cell and had thrown her against the wall. Lena rushed into the cell to calm Sam down, leaving Reign a bloodied mess. Whatever it was Reign said had angered Sam so much that she left Reign with a concussion.

When Lena phoned the DEO, after she exited L-Corp with Sam, she explained they would find Reign unconscious as a side effect of the means that were necessary to split her from Sam. It was a little white lie, but she had to ensure they wouldn’t consider Sam as a threat.

Alex was sitting on the couch, a glass in her hand. “Hey,” she said, looking at Sam and Lena. “Ruby is asleep.”

“Hello, Alex,” Lena said, frowning at the glass in her hand, not that Alex wasn’t allowed to have a drink, but it was the first time she caught her drinking at her loft. “I’m terribly sorry for returning this late.”

“Don’t be, I don’t mind babysitting Ruby, she’s a great kid,” Alex replied, putting the glass down. She was at Sam’s side in an instant, looking at her worriedly. “How are you, Sam? Are you recovering okay?”

Lena walked into her kitchen to pour herself some wine while Alex fussed over Sam’s well-being. Seeing the two of them together, sitting down on the couch, talking in hushed tones, gave her a strange mildly unpleasant feeling. She had no idea what was happening to her. It was almost as if it bothered her, but that was ridiculous.

Alex’s phone chimed. “Sorry,” she said to Sam. “Give me one second.”

Sam frowned when she noticed Alex’s eyes glazed over. “Are you alright, Alex?” she asked, putting a hand on her upper arm. She thought about squeezing gently, but she was worried she would miscalculate her strength and hurt the agent.

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just… Maggie’s been texting me. I must’ve sent her passport to the wrong address. She says she didn’t get it, which means she can’t leave the country and now she wants to meet up, and I don’t know what to do,” Alex said, close to tears. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, tearing up. “You don’t need this right now.”

“What I don’t need is for you to think you have to go through this alone. We’re friends, Alex.”

“Sam is right,” Lena agreed, joining them on the couch. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I kind of heard.”

“It’s fine, you’re fine,” Alex replied, giving Lena a small smile. “I should probably go home, it’s late and you’re both probably looking to get some rest.”

“Alex Danvers, don’t you dare walk out that door,” Lena warned, raising an eyebrow when Alex rose up from the couch.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Sam said to Alex, surprised she reached out to wrap her fingers around Alex’s wrist. She quickly let go and dropped her hand. “It’s late and you’re visibly upset.”

“What she said,” Lena agreed. “Friends take care of friends,” she said, patting the empty space between Sam and her on her couch.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to kind of redeem Kara after all, but she won't have much of a part in this story. It's Lena/Sam, after all. I'm considering bringing Alex and Maggie back together, as a minor ship, but we'll see. On the show they don't really deal with what she's going through, I mean come on... Sanvers was engaged, that ought to hurt.


	3. Chapter 3

“Maybe…maybe I didn’t send Maggie’s passport to the wrong address by mistake,” Alex said, swirling the wine in her glass, peering into it. “I think a part of me didn’t want her to get her passport back, because even though she’s already gone, her leaving the country makes it more real somehow.”

Lena had taken to rubbing soothing circles on Alex’s back, mostly because she saw Sam look at Alex worriedly, apparently too afraid to really reach out, physically. She could tell Alex suffered a lot from her separation with Maggie and rightfully so, considering they were engaged. Alex had even mentioned they were each other’s ride or die. What Alex and Maggie had couldn’t be compared to what Kara had with Mon-El, because the latter didn’t even come close to holding a candle to such a thing.

Sam heard Lena’s phone vibrate a couple of times while Alex talked. The sound was bothersome, though she had the impression she was nowhere near as bothered by it as Lena herself was.

Lena sighed as she checked her phone. It was just another text from James. Things with him weren’t going to work out. They weren’t in a relationship, because they never got that far and frankly she didn’t want to be. She was glad she dodged that bullet in time, although if she had known sooner how many awful things he said about her, she would have never even kissed him. It was a grief mistake.

Alex finished her glass of wine and thanked Lena for letting her stay over. With a weak good night and a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, she disappeared into the only guestroom Lena had left.

“You can sleep in my room,” Lena whispered to Sam, who was helping her rinse out their glasses.

Sam gasped when the glass broke in her hands. “I’m sorry, I must have squeezed too hard and-” She shook her head, god, she couldn’t even handle rinsing a glass.

“It’s okay, Sam, don’t worry about it. It was just a glass. I’ve got plenty more where that one came from,” Lena said softly, squeezing Sam’s upper arm. “It’s okay,” she repeated with a sincere smile.

When Lena made a move to clean up the glass, Sam placed her hands on Lena’s shoulders, palms flat, not squeezing, not pushing; merely halting her. “Don’t touch the glass, it’s my mess, I’ll clean it up,” she said, uncomfortable with the possibility of Lena cutting her hands on the broken glass.

“Very well,” Lena replied, no longer attempting to clean it up. “You can sleep in my room,” she said, once everything was cleaned up. “I’ll take the couch.”

Sam raised an eyebrow, because seriously? There was no way she was going to kick Lena out of her own bed and have her sleep on the couch. “I can take the couch.”

“You need rest, take my bed, I insist.”

Sam sighed. Lena just had to be stubborn and selfless. “Either I sleep on the couch or we both sleep in your bed, because there’s no way you’re going to sleep on the couch,” she stated calmly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Your bed is big enough for the both of us. Lay down on the couch and I’ll carry you to bed, watch me.”

Lena scoffed, but she knew Sam wasn’t kidding. “I suppose sharing wouldn’t be the end of the world,” she joked, regretting her choice of words when Sam’s eyes fell. World… worldkillers… how could she have been so stupid and insensitive?

“Sam,” Lena whispered, reaching out with mild hesitation.

“You better not snore,” Sam said, plastering a smile onto her face, pushing her negative thoughts down. “I may change my mind and kick you out of your room after all if you snore.”

“A lady does not snore,” Lena huffed, groaning when Sam’s gaze bored through her. “That was one time, Sam, one time. While I was completely hammered and that was years ago.”

Sam smiled cheekily as they made their way to Lena’s bedroom. She let Lena use the bathroom first, despite Lena’s protests and Lena insisting she could go first while she looked for something comfortable to wear in Lena’s closet. Her best friend had told her she could choose whatever she wanted, so she had permission to go through her closet.

Half an hour later, they both slid under the covers. Lena had opted for a basic silk nightdress, okay so maybe not that basic, but all of her nightdresses were made out of silk and it was really warm. Sam on the other hand had settled to sleep in a black tank top she found and boxer briefs.

Lena’s bed really was big. It could even fit a third person and still leave enough space to toss and turn a little. She just about jumped when Sam’s arm brushed hers and Sam must have noticed, but she was thankful Sam didn’t comment on it. Not wanting Sam to think she was scared of her, she shifted closer and brushed her arm against hers, silently conveying it was okay.

Sam turned her head to the side to look at Lena. In the dim moonlight, she caught a glimpse of Lena’s figure under the sheets and of her raven locks fanned around the pillow like a dark, angelic halo. Seeing Lena like this was different from seeing her all businesslike with her hair in a tight ponytail. She nearly ran her fingers through Lena’s hair, but thought better of it at the last second.

Lena’s voice cut through the silence. “You’re so hot,” she whispered, her arm brushing Sam’s again.

“You think I’m hot?” Sam asked, unable to keep the teasing lilt out of her voice.

Lena poked Sam’s side. “You know what I meant, Sam,” she whispered, chuckling lightly. “But for what it’s worth, yes, that too,” she added shamelessly. She’d have to be blind not to find Sam physically attractive.

Sam heard Lena’s breathing grew shallow when she dared run her fingers through her hair, just once. “Your hair smells nice. Can I borrow some of your shampoo tomorrow?”

“Of course, make yourself at home.”

“If I did that I would hog up all of the blankets and the pillows and I’d be sleeping in the middle of the bed.”

“You can have the blankets,” Lena replied, not particularly needing those when it was just so _hot_. “I’d like at least one pillow though, where else am I to rest my head?” she asked, but as soon as the question left her lips, a blush rose to her cheeks and spread down to her neck, thinking about sleeping in Sam’s arms, resting her head on her chest.

Sam found Lena’s heartbeat particularly distracting, especially when it beat faster when she got all flustered. “I won’t bite if you come closer,” she assured Lena, but the teasing lilt in her voice was back. “Unless you ask me to,” she added with a smile. “I won’t kink shame you.”

“Sam!” Lena whisper-shouted, chuckling because Sam was absolutely terrible. She recovered fairly quickly, however. “How did you know I’m into that?”

“Do I hear a request?”

Nope, scratch that, Lena had not recovered. “Good night, Sam,” she whispered, and if her voice came out a little sultry, that was nothing but a coincidence.

“Good night, Lena,” Sam replied, and if her voice dropped a little low and sounded huskier than usual, that was a coincidence, too.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sam was mindful of Lena’s presence while she stacked waffles onto a plate. Everything was heightened; the sound of Lena’s heartbeat, the little puffs of air as she breathed out, the fluttering sound of her footsteps, everything.

“How on earth are you going to eat that large stack of waffles without getting a stomach ache?” Lena asked, watching Sam with wide eyes. Alien or not, that was really impressive.

“I’m hungry,” Sam answered, pouring extra syrup onto her waffles and adding some whipped cream. It was a calorie bomb for sure, but she needed it. “You’d let your best friend starve? I’m hurt, Lee.” 

“It’s a little early in the day for drama, don’t you think, waffles?”

Sam smiled. She was about to take a bite out of her first waffle when she noticed Ruby entering the kitchen. “Rubes,” she said, voice a little choked as she dropped the waffle.

“Mom!” Ruby shouted, running into her mother’s arms. “I missed you, mom.”

“I missed you, too,” Sam replied, slowly breathing out as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. She caught Lena’s eye, saw her give an encouraging nod. “I’m sorry I was gone so long, Rubes,” she whispered, tightening the hug just a little. Her own heart was beating like crazy; worried her hug might hurt the most important person in her life.

“It’s okay, mom. You’re back now and that’s what matters,” Ruby said, holding on to her mother for dear life. “Lena and Alex said you had a concussion.”

“Ah, yes, but I’m feeling better, starting to feel better,” Sam replied, relieved her daughter didn’t know about the monster she had been the past weeks. She couldn’t bear the idea of Ruby ever finding out what she did, couldn’t bear her hearing she was Reign. “I made you some waffles.”

“Waffles for breakfast? Awesome! You’re the best, mom,” Ruby beamed, scooting over to the table.

Lena was just about to make coffee when Alex walked in with a towel around her head. “Coffee, Alex?” she asked, noticing Alex had borrowed one of her robes, which was fine. She had told her it was okay to take a shower and grab whatever she needed.

“I happen to drink coffee, too, you know,” Sam reminded Lena.

“As if you need caffeine on top of all of that sugar,” Lena said, smiling at Sam. “You better not be bouncing around the place, you need your rest.”

“You’re lucky I’m not grumpy this morning, but if I don’t get some coffee stat I’ll steal your cup.”

“The audacity,” Lena huffed, eyes glinting. “I need my dose of caffeine you know?”

Alex sat down at the table, eyes flitting curiously between Sam and Lena. “Coffee would be great, thanks,” she said when she finally managed to get more than a single word in between them.

While Lena set some coffee, she started on a lunch box for Ruby. She placed four slices of bread – the kid had a healthy appetite – on a tray and rummaged through her refrigerator. “Not the jam,” she whispered to herself, remembering Ruby wasn’t a fan of jam. “Cheese,” she whispered, reaching for Ruby’s favorite. “And little tomatoes, good thing I bought extra.”

Sam was listening to her daughter talk to get her up to speed with everything she missed the last couple of days whilst simultaneously listening to what Lena was whispering. She watched her best friend curiously, surprised she already caved in to what Ruby liked, but even more surprised she knew her favorites. It was refreshing and foreign, having someone else make her daughter’s lunch. That was normally what she did, like a mother on autopilot.

Lena poured the coffee into three cups once it was ready. “A dash of milk and four cubes of sugar,” she said to Sam, putting her cup in front of her. “Gross, by the way.”

“Says the woman who drinks her coffee black,” Sam quipped, crinkling her nose.

“You both drink gross coffee,” Alex said, wrapping her fingers around her cup of coffee with a bit of milk and one cube of sugar. “Yours is too bitter,” she said to Lena. “And yours is too sweet,” she said to Sam.

“As if she needed any more sweetness,” Lena muttered, wishing she hadn’t said that when Sam eyed her with a twinkle in her eyes. She had a feeling Sam was enjoying it very much when she embarrassed herself. Just because she referred to Sam as being sweet didn’t mean she meant anything by it.

Sam took a sip from her scalding hot coffee, but it didn’t seem to burn her tongue. The sensation was there, but that was it, just the warm sensation without the actual burn. She tilted her head when she caught Lena trying to bite back a smile.

“You have a little something there,” Lena told Sam, gesturing at her upper lip. The foam from the coffee that rested above Sam’s lips was picture worthy, but before she had the chance to snap a picture, Sam’s tongue darted out of her mouth, licking the foam away. And if it looked deliberately slow, that was only a coincidence and it was probably just all in her head, right?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe.


	4. Chapter 4

Lena sat in the back of her limousine with Ruby, who was looking through the tinted windows. She had told Sam she would drop off Ruby at school on her way to L-Corp. It was no effort really. Before today, she had Alex handle such things, since she spent the majority of her time watching over Sam’s well-being.

It felt strange, going back to L-Corp, knowing Sam was no longer down at her lab. Not that it was a bad thing, but she felt divided by the fact she was going to be at work while Sam was at her loft, alone. A part of her had really wanted to stay, but unfortunately she had a job to do. Two companies weren’t going to run themselves and she didn’t want to make Sam feel suffocated.

Ruby was grinning when they arrived at her school. “I’ve never been dropped off by a limousine before,” she gushed, grasping her backpack.

Lena wondered if the whole limousine ride was too much, but then she saw how happy Ruby looked and it washed her doubts away.

“This is so cool,” Ruby said, sliding the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. “The other kids at school will think I’m a pop star or something, they’ll talk about this for weeks.”

Lena couldn’t help but smile at Ruby’s enthusiasm. “Have a good day, Ruby,” she said, caught off guard when the young teenager hugged her.

Ruby was beaming when she let go. “Are you going to pick me up after school?”

“I’ll have my driver pick you up and drop you off at my loft,” Lena answered, unfortunately having too much work to do to be able to pick up Ruby personally. “One last hug?” she asked, and she was kidding, expecting Ruby to say no, but then Ruby threw her arms around her. “Have fun, kiddo.”

Ruby pushed the door open and smiled. With that, she hopped out of the limousine.

Lena’s phone was ringing and she wasn’t surprised to find it was James calling again. She had to sit down with him sometime soon to express she was nothing more than his boss and he was nothing more than her employee. After everything she heard, she didn’t want to be friends with him. She would have considered it, if he hadn’t bad-mouthed her in such a despicable way. It was disgusting how he could tear her down behind her back one moment and kiss her the next. At least Kara always defended her, at least until she helped Sam, but Kara did apologize.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sam let Alex into Lena’s loft, a little surprised she was visiting so soon when she only left two hours ago, give or take. The lunch Alex brought with her smelled delicious though and she was quite hungry, if she was being honest.

“So, Lena wasn’t on the couch this morning,” Alex said once they were both seated on the couch.

“Perceptive, agent,” Sam replied, a twinkle in her eyes. “What gave it away? The empty couch or seeing Lena and I leave her bedroom together?”

“Ah, you know, a little bit of this and a little bit of that.”

“I couldn’t let her sleep on the couch in her own loft. That couldn’t have been comfortable.”

“Hmm yeah, I was thinking about that as well,” Alex whispered, sighing.

“Is that why you were tossing and turning all night?” Sam asked, fixing Alex with a concerned look. “Or was it because your phone kept buzzing?”

Alex frowned for a second before her face softened. “Super hearing, right,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around you having powers.”

“You and me both,” Sam said, definitely not used to that yet either.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Alex confessed. “I kept thinking about how I was intruding by staying over.”

“It’s not intruding when you’re invited, Alex,” Sam kindly pointed out.

Alex shifted on the couch. Her eyes flickered towards Lena’s refrigerator. “I texted Maggie a lot, she couldn’t sleep either,” she whispered, chewing her lower lip. “I’m supposed to move on, but I really, really loved – _love_ – her. You should have seen her the first time she spent the night at my place. She was wearing my shirt the next day and she looked so precious, especially with that dimpled smile of hers.”

“God, what am I thinking?” Alex groaned, putting her hands in her hair. “I came here to check up on you and bring you lunch, not talk about my fia- ex-fiancée. I’m supposed to be here for you and for Kara.”

“Kara,” Sam said, frowning. “What’s going on with Kara?”

“She finally got over her ex and now he’s trying to get back together with her,” Alex answered, sighing loudly. “Oh, and get this, he was married, but he broke off his marriage, declaring his undying love for Kara.”

“I don’t like that guy,” Sam replied, cringing at the thought of someone doing all of that. “I thought Kara only dated him for three months?”

“Mhmm,” Alex hummed, nodding. “Kara is not happy about it. She feels like a home wrecker. I tried to explain to her it’s not her fault that he broke things off with his wife. She didn’t do anything wrong, quite the opposite because she tried to warn him not to ditch his wife, because she’s never ever, ever getting back together with him.”

Sam raised an eyebrow at the song reference.

“You should see his wife – ex-wife now I suppose. Imra is, she’s…,” Alex trailed off, licking her lips.

“Do you need a glass of water or a shower perhaps?” Sam asked, chuckling while Alex gave her a push.

“I’m just really gay, okay?”

“Oh I understand, really, I do,” Sam replied in all seriousness, jokes aside.

“Wait…,” Alex said, lowering her head, staring at Sam wide-eyed. “You’re gay?”

“Bi,” Sam corrected, though she figured gay was pretty much a blanket term. “How is this ex-wife, Imra, was it?” she asked, to which Alex hummed. “How is Imra taking the news of her now ex-husband trying to get back together with Kara? Are Kara and she okay?”

“She’s not angry at Kara or anything of the sorts. They hang out together now, Kara and Imra I mean, to talk about their ex and other stuff I guess. They’re there for each other, so that’s good. But, I came here for you, so how are you?”

Sam shrugged. She dug into the lunch Alex brought while Alex was responding to a text on her phone. “Maggie?” she questioned, lowering her fork as Alex hummed. She nudged Alex with her elbow as gently as she could.

Alex sighed and put her phone away, which wasn’t what Sam was trying to get at. “She wants to meet up tonight at the dive bar, around eight,” she explained, and her heart was beating so fast Sam wanted to wrap her in a hug, but Sam was still a bit on the fence about hugging someone. “I said yes. Being in contact with her again it…it feels familiar.”

“You never really answered my question by the way,” Alex backtracked, refocusing. “You can talk to me, you know that, right?”

Perhaps it was a tad hypocritical of Sam to tell Alex she didn’t have to go through things alone while simultaneously not opening up about her own problems, but she really didn’t want to burden the agent who had more than enough on her own plate. She was never quite good at sharing, at opening up, so accustomed to keeping things to herself and shoving them down so deep. She felt she had burdened her friends more than enough lately.

“Right now, I’m starving,” Sam said with a chuckle.

“Can I ask you something straightforward?” Alex asked, rolling her eyes when Sam smirked at her. “Yes, yes, I’m a lesbian who uses the word straight, deal with it,” she said, leaning back on the couch.

“I didn’t say a thing,” Sam said innocently. “Ask away, Alex, though I can’t guarantee you I’ll answer,” she added, considering that strongly depended on what Alex would ask. If it was anything Reign-related, she was likely to shut down or divert the topic with humor.

“You and Lena,” Alex began.

That got Sam’s attention. “Lena and I?” she asked, forgetting all about lunch.

“Do you like Lena? You know… like-like her, like that.”

“Lena is my best friend.”

“That doesn’t sound like a no,” Alex pointed out, and she was right, but that didn’t stop Sam from chucking a pillow at her.

“I don’t know, maybe.” Sam had so much going on she wasn’t sure in which light she saw Lena exactly. “She’s close to my heart and I care a great deal about her, but she’s my best friend, we’re basically family.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena was not a happy camper when Kara was waiting for her when she was about to leave L-Corp. She barely made it one step outside when Kara showed up next to her, scaring her half to death. “Jesus, Kara, what are you doing here?” she asked, keeping her voice down since Kara was clad as Supergirl. Did Kara not understand what it meant when she said she needed time?

“I wanted to see if you were safe, I needed to make sure.”

“Yes, I’m – why are you concerned about my safety?” Lena asked, confused while Kara fidgeted with her cape. It was such a Kara thing to do, but as Supergirl she generally didn’t appear that nervous. “Kara?” she prodded. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s been a… um, err… complication,” Kara answered, scratching the back of her neck, looking everywhere except at Lena.

Lena narrowed her eyes. She had a bad feeling about this. “What kind of complication?” she asked, to which she was met by silence and more of Kara fumbling with her cape. “Oh for god’s sake, just spit it out, Kara,” she said, sighing, wanting to go home so she could see how Sam was doing. She did not have the patience for this, not tonight.

Kara met Lena’s eyes, then. There was something written in her eyes. Shame or guilt perhaps. “We uh… the DEO…,” she tried, gulping audibly. She tugged at the top of her suit near her neck, as if she found it hard to breathe all of the sudden. “Reign escaped.”

“She what!?” Lena spat, unable to keep her voice down at this point. “How on earth did a top security facility let Reign escape within twenty-four hours while she doesn’t even have her powers anymore, while I had no problem keeping her locked up for three days? I handed Reign to the DEO, because you wanted to lock her up there and now you’re telling me she’s out here somewhere, god knows where?”

Kara visibly winced. “Purity broke her out, Purity, the second worldkiller.”

“If something happens to Sam I will burn the DEO to the ground, you hear me?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a Sanvers scene in the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Alex swung her leg over her motorcycle and took off her helmet. Maggie was already waiting for her outside of the dive bar. This felt a little like déjà vu and a lot like being stabbed in the chest with the jagged edge of a knife.

Alex shoved her hands in the pockets of her black leather jacket. The air between them was thick, tangible, so much so that if she were to reach out, she could probably feel it between her fingers and twirl it, the way she used to twirl Maggie’s hair around her fingertips.

Maggie nodded her head at Alex. “Danvers.”

“You’re leaving the country?” Alex blurted out. That was the one question she had avoided like a landmine when they texted back and forth, but seeing her in person was too much. She wanted to wrap Maggie into her arms and never let go.

“I was going to, for a week,” Maggie answered, her eyes taking in Alex. “Mandatory vacation, apparently I work too much.”

“You haven’t changed a bit then,” Alex noted, nodding her head at the dive bar. “Shall we?”

They entered the dive bar together and settled at the bar with two glasses of scotch.

Alex traced her fingertip over the rim of her glass while Maggie emptied hers as if she couldn’t chug it down fast enough. Maggie looked tired, but aside from that she was beautiful, as always.

Maggie put her glass down on the bar. Their eyes met.

Alex’s throat bobbed. Maggie’s eyes were glazed over, barely noticeable, but they were sitting closer now. There was less space between them and she honestly had no idea which one of them moved. It might have been her. It might have been Maggie or both of them. Without being this close, she wouldn’t have noticed the sad glint in Maggie’s eyes.

Alex couldn’t take it anymore. “I miss you, Maggie,” she confessed around a choked sob. “You’re always on my mind.”

“Alex, please, don’t,” Maggie replied, her voice breaking here and there. A tear escaped her. She brushed it away halfway through its descend down her cheek. “What are we doing?”

Alex pulled away and got up. “This was a mistake,” she said, and she hated seeing how her words hurt Maggie, hated seeing more tears slide down those cheeks she used to cradle in her hands. “I should leave before I do something I shouldn’t. If I don’t leave, I’ll kiss you and I know I don’t get do that anymore.”

Alex was outside, fishing her keys from her pocket when a hand curled around her wrist and spun her around. She was about to yell at whoever dared being so crass, but she found herself speechless when she saw it was Maggie. A faint gasp passed her lips as her back was pushed against the nearest brick wall.

Maggie grasped the lapels of Alex’s jacket. She was standing on the tips of her toes.

Alex dropped her head down, resting her forehead against Maggie’s. Being this close hurt and yet it wasn’t close enough. She pulled a stuttering breath into her lungs, lips nearly brushing Maggie’s, like a tender caress.

When Maggie dropped her hands, Alex fisted her shirt and drew her closer, pulling their bodies flush together. Maggie was so close now. Alex could smell the scotch that lingered on her lips. She found herself wanting to taste it.

Maggie sucked in an audible breath the second Alex pressed her lips to the corner of her mouth.

“I’m not strong enough,” Alex whispered, shoving Maggie away. If they didn’t split ways, she might do much more than just kiss her, but as soon as she had shoved Maggie away, she was reaching for her again, entwining their fingers.

Maggie closed her eyes.

“Sawyer,” Alex said, to which Maggie’s eyes snapped open.

The first time Alex kissed Maggie, she had been rejected. She didn’t want this night to turn into kissing Maggie one last time and wind up being rejected again. After everything they went through, she couldn’t take that step, couldn’t cave in to everything inside of her screaming at her to kiss Maggie.

It turned out Alex didn’t have to when lips crashed against her own. Maggie tasted like scotch and salty tears, and she let it.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena was in such a rush to get home that by the time she got home, she was out of breath. She fished her keys from her purse, but it appeared she didn’t need them because the door was being opened. She slowly dragged her eyes up, meeting Sam’s gaze.

Sam heard how frantic Lena’s heartbeat was. Her concern merely grew when Lena gripped her arms as if she was afraid she was going to dissolve right in front of her. “Lena,” she whispered, and then Lena’s arms were around her.

“Are you okay?” Lena asked while she struggled to regain control of her breathing. “Is Ruby okay?”

“We’re okay, but are you okay?” Sam asked in turn, wondering who she would have to kill for upsetting Lena. Not literally kill of course, but maybe dangle over the edge of a building and scare half to death.

“Oh thank god,” Lena breathed out. She knew for sure this was Sam because one look into her eyes had been enough. Sam’s features were softer than Reign’s, gentler.

Sam thought about bringing her arms up to hug Lena back, but then Lena took a step back with a blush adorning her cheeks and if Lena’s heart was racing before, it was setting a new record now.

Lena opened and closed her mouth a few times. She hadn’t meant to practically throw herself at Sam. It was purely out of relief.

“I saved you some food,” Sam said while Lena entered her loft. “I hope you don’t mind Ruby and I already ate. We wanted to wait for you, but we were both hungry.”

“That’s quite alright,” Lena replied, not minding one bit. “We need to talk,” she whispered under her breath, so only Sam could hear her.

“Hey, Lena,” Ruby said, grinning from her spot on the couch. “I was just going to watch a movie. Do you want to join?”

“Some other time, kiddo,” Lena answered with a polite smile. “You can go ahead and watch a movie while I eat and discuss work with your mother.”

The teenager seemed satisfied with Lena’s answer and grabbed the remote, paying them no further mind as she became engrossed with the movie she chose while Lena sat down at her kitchen table with Sam.

Lena relayed the brief conversation she had with Supergirl to Sam in hushed tones. She left the fact she threatened to burn the DEO down to the ground out and also the fact Kara was Supergirl, although she had no doubt Sam was bound to discover the truth sooner or later, but that didn’t change the fact it wasn’t her secret to share.

Sam felt uncomfortable learning Reign was free, all because the second worldkiller aided in breaking her out and apparently the DEO failed to keep her locked up. She didn’t blame the DEO, although she had to admit it was surprising they couldn’t even hold her for more than a day.

“Reign is one out of three,” Lena whispered, swallowing around a bite of her salad. “They don’t know who the third worldkiller is yet.”

“How comforting,” Sam muttered quietly. If it was unknown who the third worldkiller was, it could be anyone, even someone they knew. “Reign has no powers left though, you made sure of that.”

“Well…She may not be as powerless as I had hoped she was. The green and gold kryptonite should have been more than enough. Green kryptonite was supposed to weaken her and the gold ensures a Kryptonian loses their powers, forever. Unfortunately, Reign is different and from what Supergirl told me, she seems to be weaning off of it. She’s still weakened, but she’s stronger than humans and took down several agents. If I had to take a rough guess, I would say she regained ten percent of her full capacity. It’s unsure how much she can regain, but she needs another dose soon or she will grow stronger.”

Sam’s jaw tensed. She remembered how much Reign taunted her, how she threatened to harm Lena. She was not going to let the people she loved get hurt, no, over her dead body. If Reign so much as wanted to hurt a single hair on Lena’s head, she had to go through her first.

Lena noticed Sam looking over her shoulder at Ruby, who was laughing at something that was happening in the movie. “I’ll keep you both safe,” she whispered, covering Sam’s hand with her own. She wasn’t entirely sure how yet, but she wanted to keep them safe at all costs.

Sam snapped her head back to Lena. She moved her other hand to trap Lena’s hand between hers. “I know you will,” she said silently, and she did believe Lena, but she was more invested in making sure she was keeping them safe rather than having Lena keep Ruby and her safe.

The fact Ruby and Lena were human terrified Sam. It left them vulnerable. Lena was a fighter, she knew that, but she was also only human.

Lena wanted to tell Sam everything was going to be okay, but she didn’t. She didn’t because she wasn’t prone to voice promises she wasn’t certain she could keep. The future was unpredictable and with three worldkillers on the loose, it was a waiting game to see which move Reign and her companions were planning on making.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“I like Lena’s place more than yours.”

“Is that so?” Sam asked, sitting at the edge of the bed. She tickled her daughter’s sides, smiling when she shrieked in response. Oh how much she missed moments like this, moments where she could be carefree and see Ruby smile. “I sense the limousine ride and the copious amounts of ice cream in the freezer have something to do with you saying that.”

“ _And_ she makes me my favorite lunch,” Ruby added, beaming.

“I noticed,” Sam whispered, tucking her daughter in.

“She’s really sweet and really smart. Lena helped me with my homework when you were away. Alex helped me a lot, too. I’m not good with math, but Lena taught me a few tricks. She also taught me how to play chess. She said it’s all about strategy. I got her to watch Bambi with me. She had never seen it before, can you believe that?” Ruby gushed excitedly, talking a mile a minute. “I think I made her cry though. When his mom died, she was holding a tissue and she said it was dust, but I knew better.”

Sam smiled at the revelation of Lena being a crybaby over a movie, though she had to admit it was hard not to shed a tear at that one particular scene. It warmed her heart how much her daughter had taken a shine to Lena, not that it was surprising because only a fool wouldn’t like Lena. She could never thank Lena enough for everything she did for the both of them. In the short time Sam hadn’t been around, she felt she missed so much. Time flew by way too fast and she wished she had been there to watch Bambi with them.

“Good night, Rubes,” Sam whispered, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s forehead.

Ruby tucked her hand under her cheek. “Good night, mom,” she replied, barely stifling a yawn.

“Sweet dreams.”

Sam tiptoed towards the door and flicked off the lights. She stood near the door for a few minutes, though it might have been closer to half an hour, if not more. She just stood there, watching the rise and fall of her daughter’s chest. Her baby girl was all she had in this world. If Reign wanted to hurt her, there were only so many people she could go after.

Hoping for a worldkiller not to hold a grudge was wishful thinking, but Sam did wonder what Reign’s limits were, if any. She wondered if worldkillers were evil enough to harm a child, especially one as innocent as her daughter was. Ruby was always going to be her number one concern, the baby girl she had sworn to protect since the day she held her for the first time and watched those little eyes flutter open.

Her second concern was Lena, sweet loyal Lena who was there for her. Sam was worried sick it was Lena Reign was going to go after. She made a mistake when she let Reign get under her skin back at the lab. Her reaction told Reign she cared about Lena.

Sam bit her lip. She had the strength of a worldkiller, but what good were her powers when she didn’t know how to use them? She was not the hero her daughter had hoped she was when she first showed signs of having super strength. The only kind of hero she ever wanted to be was a good mother. Her powers and everything she had done made her a monster. She was a monster, but she wasn’t going to let another monster hurt the people she loved.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Lena couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t like she wasn’t trying, but her mind was wide awake and wasn’t giving her any rest. She sat up when she heard something. She reached for the first thing she could get her hands on; her lamp from her bedside table, unplugging it. With the lamp clutched in her hand, she tiptoed out of her bedroom.

A gun might have come in handy, but she didn’t want weapons in her loft while a child was around, so she had stashed her weapons at L-Corp instead, which she was now mildly regretting. Not that a regular gun was going to do much when facing off against a worldkiller, though some of the weapons she had were no regular guns.

There was a sound again. She couldn’t place what it was, but it sounded like it came from the living room. Nearing her living room, she spotted a figure sitting on her couch in the dark. She squint her eyes and when she stepped even closer, she heard sniffling.

“Sam?” Lena asked, easing her grip on the lamp. She quickly put it down. “Sam,” she whispered, striding towards her couch.

Sam looked up at Lena as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Did I wake you?”

“No, I wasn’t sleeping yet,” Lena answered, sitting down next to Sam.

“I’m here,” Lena whispered, putting a hand on Sam’s jaw.

“I had a nightmare,” Sam said, voice croaking a little as she spoke. “I woke up and I wasn’t me anymore, I was her again and I was hurting people. I hurt Ruby and I hurt you…”

“Sam,” Lena said gently, wiping her best friend’s tears away. “Ruby is okay. I’m okay. We’re okay. You’d never hurt us.”

“You don’t know that for sure, Lee,” Sam whispered, closing her eyes as more tears fell.

Sam felt awful. She had seen the news, had caught up on everything Reign had done, what _she_ had done. Reign spoke of justice, yet she hurt Supergirl, the hero who was trying to make this city a better place. Hurt was an understatement, it was clear Reign had meant to kill Supergirl.

“I’m scared I’ll become her again,” Sam confessed, opening her eyes. “I know you split me from Reign, but she’s regaining her powers. What if I’m still that monster? What if a part, even a fraction of her still lingers inside of me, waiting to wake up?”

“You’re Sam, you’re my best friend. You’re not a monster. You never have been and never will be. It’s over. You won’t ever turn into Reign anymore.”

Sam sobbed quietly while Lena wrapped her arms around her. She wanted to hug Lena really tight, but she couldn’t afford that. “Why did you strip Reign of her powers, if only temporary, while you haven’t stripped me of mine?” she asked, worried she might hurt Lena somehow.

“It wasn’t my decision to make,” Lena answered sincerely. “If you want your powers to be gone, I can arrange it for you, but it won’t be a pleasant experience and the effects don’t last. I can work on creating something stronger than gold and green kryptonite, though something stronger might kill you and that’s not an option.”

A part of Sam wanted her powers to be gone so she could hug those she loved without worrying about breaking them or hurting them even a little bit, but another part of her wanted to keep her powers. If those worldkillers came after those she cared about, she had to protect them. She was the only one with the strength of a worldkiller. She was the only one strong enough to face Purity and the third worldkiller.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Sam whispered, carefully snaking her arms around Lena’s waist. “And I have the feeling I already did.”

Lena disagreed with that, because Sam hadn’t hurt her. “What makes you think you have?”

Sam didn’t answer. She merely pulled Lena a little bit closer.

“What were you hoping to accomplish with that lamp?” Sam asked, chuckling, pushing her tears away.

“I hoped you hadn’t noticed that lamp,” Lena said, a tad embarrassed she had been caught. “I should work on my stealth.”

“Good luck, I heard you leave your bedroom,” Sam replied, smiling. She had been listening in to Lena’s heartbeat, just as much as she was listening to her daughter’s heartbeat. “You should get some sleep. I’ll keep an eye on the fort.”

“Fort,” Lena snorted, shaking her head. She nudged Sam with her elbow, exchanging a smile. “I’m not going to sleep without you.”

“You could have at least offered me a drink before luring me into your bed.”

Lena’s smile stretched further. This was the Sam she knew, the Sam she…cared about. “Who needs drinks when I can ask nicely?” she replied, batting her eyelashes.

Sam leaned back onto the couch. “Okay, convince me,” she said, grateful for this distraction from her thoughts.

“Sam, you’re my best friend and I love you, and we should get some sleep. Will you do me the honor of sleeping with me?”

“I’d be lying if I’d say it wouldn’t be a _pleasure_ ,” Sam answered, deliberately slow. Her heart warmed at the fact Lena told her she loved her. She knew that, of course, because they were best friends, but hearing it still did something to her. “Okay, I’m convinced, take me to bed.”

Lena breathed out a laugh. It barely registered in her mind that she suggested for them to share a bed. She brought this onto herself, though she also had a feeling Sam kind of set her up somehow, like a sneaky tease.

“I may be a bit overdressed,” Lena said, fanning herself by waving her hand in front of her face. She was wearing leggings and a shirt. “You’re hot,” she clarified, but that only seemed to amuse Sam further. She liked humoring Sam though, enjoyed seeing her smile. “It’s like going to bed with a furnace.”

“By all means, if you want to take off those leggings, go ahead,” Sam replied, making a vague gesture at Lena’s leggings with her hand. She was kidding and she thought Lena was kidding as well, but then Lena seriously took off her leggings and wow was she glad Lena wasn’t the one with super hearing, because her heart was hammering against her ribcage.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena’s feet were cold, but when she snuggled closer to Sam, her feet no longer felt cold.

Sam nearly flinched at the cold touch. It was strange how every touch was heightened yet the cold didn’t make her feel cold. She put an arm around Lena and nosed the back of her neck, smiling at how Lena was being a little spoon.

Lena exhaled silently. It was a refreshing experience, having her back pressed against Sam’s front. She tried to push away the thoughts of how she wanted more of this. Sam was her best friend, whom she was trying to help. Any thoughts that weren’t strictly friendly were inappropriate.

Sam caressed her hand up and down Lena’s arm, curious at the way Lena’s heart skipped a beat. Was it a coincidence or was she doing that to her? Lena’s earlier words played through her mind on repeat. Lena said she loved her. As a best friend, surely, but Lena had spoken those words with such softness, so gentle and caring, and sincere it made her wonder if it ran deeper than friendship.

“Good night, Lee,” Sam whispered, pressing a kiss to Lena’s shoulder.

Lena’s lips parted at the touch. She was relieved she wasn’t facing Sam so her reaction was lost on her. “Good night, waffles,” she replied, squeaking when Sam poked her.

“I made a large stack of waffles once. Are you really going to keep calling me waffles?”

“I’m a Luthor, darling,” Lena answered with a smile. “Being stubborn is in my nature.”

“I like that about you. You’re headstrong and passionate. You push through no matter what.”

Lena blushed at the sudden unexpected compliments. “If this is your way of talking yourself into my bed, need I remind you you’re currently in it?” she teased, poking some fun, reveling at this light mood they were in where everything felt less heavy.

“Says the woman who asked me to sleep with her,” Sam quipped.

Lena guffawed and dammit, Sam was right. “You said and I quote; convince me.”

“Hm yes, and you obeyed, such a good girl,” Sam purred. Laughter bubbled up when Lena turned around and she could tell Lena was visibly pouting. “That pout is cheating,” she whispered, running a finger down Lena’s jaw.

Lena was struck by how much she wanted to kiss Sam. When did that happen? She didn’t though. No, this was her best friend, who was healing.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When Lena was informed by her secretary Miss Danvers was here to see her, she had sighed at first, until Jess spoke again and clarified it was agent Danvers. She straightened up, putting her paperwork aside for a bit as she told Jess to let Alex enter. It wasn’t Alex’s habit to visit her, though it was possible this was about the worldkillers situation. That thought went out of the window when she noticed the vice grip Alex had on the door.

Alex slowly breathed out and shut the door. “I kissed Maggie last night,” she blurted out.

Lena pressed the button of her intercom. “Jess, move my ten o’clock to eleven,” she said before releasing the button. “Water?” she asked, glancing at Alex while she got up and circled around her desk.

“I take it you don’t have anything stronger?”

“I have water, coffee or tea,” Lena answered, grabbing two glasses.

“Water is fine,” Alex said, sitting down on the couch after Lena gestured at it. “I take it you’re wondering why I’m here to talk to you about this, especially since you’re working.”

Lena poured two glasses of water and held one out to Alex. “Not at all,” she replied while Alex took the glass from her. She smiled and sat down next to the agent. “We’re friends and work or not, I always have time for friends.”

Alex gripped her glass tightly, knuckles whitening. “I don’t want to overwhelm Sam. She’s been through a lot and I can’t talk to Kara either because she’s busy dealing with her ex, and that’s a whole other drama. You must have a lot going on as well, I can imagine. You’ve been helping Sam and you have issues with James and you had that fight with Kara...,” she trailed off.

“Alex,” Lena said pointedly, fixing her with a look. “As I said, we are friends. You don’t have to feel guilty for needing someone to talk to. I’m here for you.”

“When I saw Maggie last night, I wanted to kiss her and I told her that. I told her I had to leave or else I would kiss her. She followed me outside and something snapped, and we kissed. I took her to my place. We kissed more, but then she stopped. She said it was a mistake and it was, but…deep down it felt so right. Kissing her after all this time felt like she was coming home, like she was coming back to me.”

Lena put her glass aside when Alex started crying.

“I don’t know how to un-love her,” Alex choked out. Her hands were shaking. The water sloshed out of the glass a little. She let Lena take the glass from her. “I should have never broken off our engagement. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

Lena pulled Alex into her arms and hugged her. She wasn’t really sure what she could say. Heartbreak was painful and people generally didn’t seek her out for comfort or to talk. She thought about reminding Alex she wanted children while Maggie didn’t, but she thought better of it and deemed it insensitive.

“Falling out of love doesn’t happen overnight,” Lena said softly. “You were honest with Maggie and that was the right thing to do.”

“That’s just the thing, Lena. I don’t want to fall out of love with Maggie. When I picture myself ten years from now, I see myself waking up next to Maggie. I see her wearing my shirts and I see us going to concerts together. No matter which way I picture my future, I always picture it with her in it.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

Sam turned on the news. Killing time at Lena’s loft wasn’t easy, unless she kept busy. Turning on the news turned out to be a mistake. Her grip on the remote tightened when the news talked about things Reign had done, things _she_ had done. It was awful how many people got hurt and how many people were afraid.

She tried to remind herself she wasn’t in control when Reign took over, but she still felt as if she should have done something, should have fought somehow. The remote cracked in her hand.

“No, no, no,” Sam said, staring with wide eyes at the broken remote.

Sam sighed and put the pieces aside on the table. She could try and tape the remote back together, but it looked ruined beyond repair. This was Lena’s place. She had to be more careful. If she hadn’t watched the news, she wouldn’t have ruined the remote.

“Perfect, just perfect,” Sam said, balling her fists. She was close to stomping her foot on the floor, but she didn’t, out of concern she would stomp a hole into the floor.

“Lena helps you and this is how you repay her?” Sam muttered to herself. “What kind of friend am I?”

Shaking her head, she turned off the television. If Lena was here, she might tell her to get some rest, but she had been doing enough of that. In fact, she was ready to go home, physically at least. Mentally, not even close. She was scared something might happen. Scared a fraction of Reign still lingered and with three worldkillers on the loose, she wasn’t comfortable with Lena living alone.

She cared about Lena, a lot, like really a lot. Deciding to do something useful, she sauntered into the kitchen. The least she could do was make dinner. She dug up ingredients and set the table with a couple of candles. Perhaps it had a bit of a romantic touch to it, but a candlelit dinner was lovely and she couldn’t remember the last time she had a candlelit dinner with someone.

“Scented candles,” Sam whispered when she found some of those. “Even better,” she said, smiling.

It wasn’t a romantic dinner, she kept telling herself that. Obviously it wasn’t, because her daughter was going to be around as well, so there, not romantic at all. So what if she kind of had feelings for Lena that weren’t strictly platonic? It didn’t matter how she felt, not even if her feelings towards Lena had been growing.

Not to forget she had a twelve year old daughter and Lena was young. She couldn’t expect Lena to ever want to be a part of the little family she had. That was a big ask and her dating life was non-existent. People didn’t exactly leap at the chance to date a single mom.

“Focus,” Sam whispered to herself. She had dinner to prepare. Lena was just a friend, her best friend, whom she felt like kissing.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena was having a regular day at her office, until it wasn’t regular at all. She raised an eyebrow when none other than Reign walked through the door, quite literally through it. The wood splintered around Reign and she wondered if Reign got through security.

As far as she was aware, Reign wasn’t back to her full strength. If she had to guess, she would say Reign was probably at twenty to thirty percent of her usual strength by now, which for a worldkiller was a lot. It was lethal enough, for humans.

“If it isn’t Reign,” Lena said as she moved to stand. “Here to turn yourself in? Miss your cell?”

Reign’s eyes were red and the smile on her face was all darkness. “I’m here to make a deal.”

“I don’t make deals with the devil,” Lena replied, walking around her desk.

“That is what you have your mother for.”

Lena’s eye twitched. Her mother was considered the devil reincarnated, but she didn’t need that reminder, especially not from a worldkiller. “What do you want?” she asked, cutting Reign a dangerous glare. She leaned casually against her desk, not flinching in the slightest.

Lena did fear Reign, feared what she was capable of, but she didn’t want the worldkiller to know that. She was a Luthor for crying out loud. She wasn’t going to let Reign intimidate her, even if Reign could snap her in half.

“You,” Reign stated simply.

Now that was an answer Lena didn’t expect. “Me?”

“Come with me willingly and I give you my word no harm will come to Ruby. Someone’s word means something to you weaklings, doesn’t it? You care about the child.”

Lena raised an eyebrow. If Reign was trying to make a deal to get her to go with her willingly, then Reign knew she intended to put up a fight and couldn’t easily be taken. Worldkiller or not, Reign didn’t have full access to her powers, not the way she used to, which meant she had a chance.

“If you promise not to harm Ruby _and_ Sam, I’ll come with you.”

Reign laughed as if Lena just told her a joke. “You think your pathetic life is worth two lives?” she asked, voice taunting and cold. “Your life isn’t even worth one life. You should thank me for my generosity and willingness to spare Ruby.”

“I am not going to show gratitude for you sparing the life of a twelve year old who has done nothing wrong. You’re a coward, Reign. You think you’re high and mighty, but you’re not. If anyone is weak, it’s you.”

“If you don’t come with me willingly, I will take you with me by force and I’ll have a school to visit. All I have to do is walk in there, pretend I am Sam and they will hand Ruby to me without question. I can cease her anytime I want.”

Lena’s blood chilled in her veins. Reign could try and pull a stunt like that. “Nobody will ever believe you’re Sam, because she’s a million times the person you are. She’s good and kind while you are rotten to the core.”

“It takes a rotten apple to know one.”

“Go to hell,” Lena hissed, feeling anger bubble up in her chest.

“Alas I don’t know where your mother lives,” Reign replied and Lena wanted to wipe that dark, devilish grin off of her face, of the imposter who dared walk around with Sam’s face. “Now quit wasting my time or your employees will pay the price. This is your last chance to accept my deal and come with me.”

Lena clenched her jaw while Reign held out a hand. It was such a strange gesture coming from a worldkiller, though she wasn’t going to rule out the possibility of Reign breaking her hand if she took hers. What was even stranger was the fact Reign offered a deal to begin with.

The moment was abruptly interrupted by Supergirl’s arrival, however, just as Lena was about to reach out to take Reign’s hand.

“You are not taking Miss Luthor anywhere,” Kara said sharply to Reign.

Reign kicked Kara, but Kara hardly even stumbled. Narrowing her eyes, Reign leapt off of the balcony and disappeared.

“Lena,” Kara said, voice soft as she turned to Lena. “Are you okay?” she asked, looking Lena over.

“What have you done?” Lena asked, hands shaking, eyes wide as she stared at Kara. “I was going to accept her deal so Ruby could be safe,” she said, feeling her stomach twist because Ruby could be in danger. “It was my decision, you shouldn’t have…”

Lena sighed. She knew Kara simply wanted to help and was doing what she always did. Her anger dissipated as quickly as it had occurred. She couldn’t lash out at Kara, not again. It wasn’t fair to take her frustration out on Kara.

Kara shifted from one foot onto the other, bringing her hand up to fidget with glasses that weren’t there. She dropped her hand and fumbled with her cape instead.

“I’m sorry,” Kara said, not meeting Lena’s gaze, instead staring at the floor. “I couldn’t let Reign take you because…because I care about you. You’re my friend, even if I’m no longer yours. I’m always going to want to protect you.”

Lena couldn’t stand seeing Kara hurt, couldn’t stand knowing she was the reason Kara was hurting. In a few quick strides, she was directly in front of Kara. “Our friendship isn’t over just because we had a fight,” she said, wanting to move past it, though she did need more time before things could go back to how they were.

Kara lifted her head, meeting Lena’s gaze.

Lena pulled Kara into a quick hug. It didn’t last longer than a second or two. “Can you keep an eye on Ruby’s school?” she asked, not wanting anything bad to happen to Ruby.

“Of course,” Kara answered, taking a step towards the balcony. “I won’t let Reign hurt her.”

Something told Lena Kara wasn’t solely talking about Ruby. She hoped Reign would be contained again soon, along with those other two worldkillers. The DEO let Purity escape and then Reign, but three times had to be the charm, right? She didn’t want the DEO to screw it up again.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sam smiled cautiously as Lena eyed the table. She could tell Lena’s eyes were filled with awe and it gave her a warm feeling that spread throughout her chest.

“You did all of this?” Lena asked, smiling at Sam. “It’s amazing, thank you,” she whispered, leaning forward to kiss Sam’s cheek.

Sam found herself wanting to pull Lena closer, but she let that idea sail. They weren’t alone, Ruby was around. “It was the least I could do,” she said, shrugging.

“You didn’t have to do all of this,” Lena said, amazed. Her place smelled wonderful from the scented candles and the food. “You must’ve put a lot of time into this, waffles.”

Sam chuckled. “I’m fast, remember?” she replied, though she did take her time with it.

Ruby’s gasp caught their attention. “What happened to the remote?”

Sam cast her eyes down.

Lena grasped Sam’s hand and squeezed, quietly conveying it was okay. It was easy to put two and two together, to figure out Sam had something to do with it. “I dropped the remote,” she told Ruby.

Sam looked up and stared at Lena. She was surprised Lena was taking the blame, but Lena probably didn’t want Ruby to question her.

Lena gave Sam’s hand one last squeeze before letting go. “Shall we eat then?” she asked with a sweet smile. “The food smells delicious and I for one am starving.”

“Save room for dessert,” Sam warned Lena and her daughter. “I made chocolate mousse.”

“Chocolate,” Lena whispered, licking her lips. “You’re staying forever, right?” she said to Sam with a chuckle.

Sam watched the way crinkles formed at the corners of Lena’s eyes as she smiled. She noticed the sparkle in Lena’s green eyes. Lena was nothing short of gorgeous when she had a genuine smile on her face. In this moment, staying forever sounded perfect. She knew Lena was kidding around, but a part of her wished she wasn’t and it floored her just how much she felt for Lena.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Alex was sitting on her couch, watching Friends reruns when she heard a knock on her door. With a quiet sigh, she turned off her television. If anyone asked, she would deny she liked watching Friends. People generally saw her as the type to watch action packed series and shows, though those who knew her better knew she enjoyed a good comedy or romantic movie every once in a while, or a romcom.

She looked through the peephole as she always did; swallowing thickly when she saw it was Maggie, who was holding a pack of beer and a pizza. It brought her back to the first time Maggie kissed her, when Maggie visited her and gave a speech about how life is too short, and that they should kiss the girls they wanted to kiss.

“Sawyer,” Alex said, opening the door. Her breath hitched as Maggie’s eyes roamed down her body.

“Leggings, hm?” Maggie commented with a smile. “I thought you hated leggings.”

Alex shrugged a shoulder and stepped aside so Maggie could enter properly.

Maggie put the pizza and the beer down on the counter. She was frowning when she turned around to look at Alex. “I need to tell you something,” she announced with a deep sigh. “I need to tell you why I told you I don’t want children.”

Alex nodded slowly and gestured at her couch, deeming it better to sit down for this. “I’m listening,” she said, pulling one knee up under her chin.

Maggie brushed her fingers through a lock of her hair, shifting, sitting sideways on the couch. “Three years before I met you, I was dating a woman who had the cutest two year old little girl. Jamie was always dancing. She wanted to be a dancer,” she said while tears formed in her eyes.

Alex felt goosebumps erupt all over her skin at the past tense. Seeing Maggie tear up was like being stabbed repeatedly.

“One day, we went to the park together,” Maggie continued, clearing her throat. Her voice came out a little unsteady. “Two days before that, there was someone I’d arrested, but I had to let them go because the evidence didn’t sustain. That person showed up at the park and…”

Alex reached for Maggie’s hand, running her thumb over the back of her knuckles.

“They didn’t survive the attack,” Maggie whispered. “I realized my job was dangerous, not only to me, but to the people I love and care about. That’s why I don’t want kids, because it’ll be the first target for anyone who wants to hurt me or get revenge for something. I don’t want kids because I’m scared they’ll wind up dead, just like Jamie did.”

“And now…,” Maggie added, shaking her head. “With Reign out there? I saw on the news she broke your leg months ago and the thought of losing you…I can’t lose you, Danvers. I love you.”

Alex closed the gap between them to hug Maggie. “I love you, too,” she whispered, stroking her hair.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Ruby sat sandwiched between her mother and Lena, smiling from ear to ear. There was a large bowl of popcorn on her lap. Her mother had said a small bowl, but one pleading look at Lena was enough to get a big bowl instead.

“I hope this movie has a happy ending,” Lena said, eyeing the box of tissues on the coffee table, hoping she wasn’t going to need those. She didn’t want to repeat the Bambi scenario.

“It’s over the hedge,” Sam said, smiling at the movie her daughter selected. “You should be safe, though that’s not to say there aren’t any scenes that might make you cry.”

“You don’t have to sound so pleased about the possibility of me crying, you know?”

“Oh I know I don’t have to, but I want to,” Sam replied, chuckling while Lena grumpily looked the other way.

Lena felt something tug at her heartstrings when Ruby rested her head on her shoulder. It was surreal how much the teenager seemed to gravitate towards her, how she didn’t avoid her unlike so many others did. Weeks ago she would have laughed if someone told her she would be sitting on her couch watching a family movie with a woman she had a crush on and a teenager. Oh god, crush, she had a crush on Sam, or well, it was more than a simple crush really.

When she thought of Sam, of kissing her, she felt more than butterflies. It had been a while since she harbored such feelings for anyone. She certainly didn’t harbor them for James. God, James, she had yet to have a proper conversation with him to tie up loose ends, so to speak. They weren’t in a relationship, but she wanted to do the right thing and properly sit down with him to make it clear whatever they had wasn’t going anywhere and that it was over.

“Hammy is my favorite,” Ruby said, laughing while they watched the movie. “Mom can copy him a little,” she informed Lena. “Do it, mom,” she pleaded, batting her eyelashes at her mother.

“Yes, Sam, do it,” Lena chimed in, raising a curious eyebrow.

Sam smiled and this was so unfair. She couldn’t say no to both of them at once. Years of practicing saying no flew out of the window as she stuffed some popcorn into her cheeks.

Lena nearly lost it at the sight of Sam’s stuffed cheeks and her friend hadn’t even done a voice yet. “I am so taking a picture of this,” she said, opening up her camera on her phone.

“You should go with video,” Ruby whispered conspiringly into Lena’s ear. “She’ll do the voice.”

Sam shook her head, smiling around a mouthful of popcorn.

Lena took Ruby’s tip and filmed Sam while she tried to copy Hammy’s voice. “If I ever get bored at work, I’ll know what to watch to kill the time,” she said, pocketing her phone.

“I hope you know if you share that video with anyone, I have plenty things I can show people, of you,” Sam informed Lena with a cheeky smile.

“What have you done?” Lena asked, getting up from the couch. “Sam?” she insisted, placing her hands on her shoulders, staring into her eyes. It hit her like a train how much she wanted to lean in and kiss her, but she couldn’t do that, of course.

Sam struggled to keep her eyes up, because those two traitors wanted to look lower and memorize the bows of Lena’s lips, the softness of those lips which were often painted red. She lost her struggle to Lena’s tongue wetting her lips, finding she wanted to do that for her.

Lena forgot why she was standing in front of Sam, completely gone in the sparkle in those hazel eyes. She was struck by the warmth swirling in those deep brown eyes and the seductive green dancing around its edges.

The silence was broken, not by the movie, but by a camera shutter clicking.

Ruby grinned as two pairs of eyes flitted over towards her. “We should take a picture of the three of us together,” she suggested, smiling when her mother and Lena readily agreed. “Say cheese!”

“I don’t know whether to call you popcorn or waffles now,” Lena said to Sam, poking her tongue a little past her lips. She felt juvenile, but also free and like she could unapologetically be herself. She wasn’t always serious and all business.

“Are you letting me choose, Lee?”

“Not really,” Lena answered, chuckling. “I might also call you Hammy.”

“Catch me calling you never as I delete your number,” Sam replied, savoring the sound of Lena’s laughter, engraving it into her memory.

Ruby snapped a picture and held her phone out for both of them to see. “We should frame this and hang it up,” she said, looking at her mother.

Lena had seen the framed pictures Sam hung up at her place. They were all pictures of Sam with Ruby, so she didn’t expect Sam to give in and hang one up where she was in. It was a family thing they had and she didn’t want to intrude.

“Good idea, Rubes,” Sam said, smiling, hearing a faint gasp from Lena. “Once we’re home, we’ll frame it and hang it up.”

Lena’s stomach dropped. The hard truth they weren’t staying hit her harder than it should have. Her loft wasn’t their home, so of course they weren’t staying. Who was she kidding? It might not have been next week yet, but sooner or later they were leaving and she was going to be all alone again.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sam knocked on Lena’s half-opened bedroom door. She saw Lena flitting through her drawers. “Hey,” she said when green eyes shot towards her. “Mind if I come in?”

A smile tugged at Lena’s lips. “Not at all,” she answered, shutting her drawer. “I can’t decide what I want to wear, a tank top and shorts or one of my silk nightdresses?”

“How about nothing?”

“Sam,” Lena whispered, swatting at Sam’s arm. “You wish, you perv,” she whispered with nothing but affection in her voice.

Sam’s eyes were glinting. “You’ll never know,” she replied, feigning innocence, but now she couldn’t stop thinking about Lena getting naked. Great, she really was being a pervert.

Lena reached for a nightdress, but paused. If Sam was staying, a tank top and shorts were better. She didn’t want to ask though.

“I want to thank you for taking the blame for the remote,” Sam whispered, loosely placing her hands on Lena’s shoulders. She squeezed once, softly, hesitantly. “I’ve thought about offering you a massage to thank you properly, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Sam,-”

“You trust me, I know,” Sam whispered, sighing. “But I’m not ready to trust myself yet.”

Lena was saddened Sam struggled to trust herself, though she understood Sam was trying to get a grip on her powers. She contemplated whether she should tell Sam what happened today with Reign or not. Reign threatened Ruby and wanted her for reasons she didn’t know, which wasn’t going to be easy for Sam to hear.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Lena whispered, missing the contact immensely when Sam moved her hands away.

Sam took a step closer. “I want to,” she said, running the back of her finger down Lena’s cheek, tracing the outline of her jaw. She stopped herself there, realizing she was going too far. “Can I sleep here tonight? I feel a little on edge and your heartbeat calms me.”

Lena’s lips parted at Sam’s honest declaration. She managed a nod and opened her drawer, opting for a black tank top and matching shorts. “Can I get some privacy or did you want a show?”

“Tempting,” Sam whispered, too late to stop herself from biting down on her lower lip. She smiled and turned around, hearing Lena’s heart speed up as much as hers did.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Lena felt a little uneasy at the sight of James’ smile when he walked in. He seemed quite pleased she phoned him and asked him if he had time to come see her at L-Corp. She wasn’t avoiding Catco, though she had spent a significant amount less time there than she had here. To be fair, she bought Catco on a whim, back when she would have jumped through hoops that were lit on fire for Kara.

She took friendship quite seriously and perhaps deep down, she used to have feelings for Kara that ran deeper than friendship, but that was all in the past now. Whichever feelings she may have had for the blonde reporter who also happened to be Supergirl were long gone now.

Just as anticipated, James leaned in, but instead of letting it or meeting his lips halfway, Lena moved her head to the side, feeling his lips press against her cheek.

There was a puzzled look on James’ face, as if he was trying to figure out why she didn’t let him kiss her.

Lena was almost offended by the look on his face, given James was more than aware of the negative things he spewed about her behind her back. “I’ll cut to the chase,” she said stiffly. “I asked you to come here because I want to inform you what we had is not and will not go anywhere, because I am not feeling it and I believe I have feelings for someone else.”

“You have feelings for someone else,” James replied, nodding slowly. “Does this someone feel the same way?”

Lena didn’t know, but even if she had, she wasn’t going to discuss it with James. “I prefer keeping my private life private,” she stated calmly. “Our interactions shall be work-related from here on out. I do wish you the best and may you find whatever it is you seek in life.”

“I see,” James whispered, taking a step back. “I wish you the same.”

Lena slowly breathed out when James left, relieved that didn’t go completely sideways. James wasn’t a bad guy, though he did say unacceptable things about her at some point, for which he never showed any remorse and he never apologized. This chapter of her life was closed now. James was nothing more but one of her employees.

She checked her watch, frowning because her secretary hadn’t shown up yet while Jess was ever punctual. Wondering if Jess overslept, she decided to phone her, but when she did, it went straight to voicemail. That was odd. She was always able to reach her secretary, even in the middle of the night, which she knew because she sort of accidentally called her in the middle of the night once. It happened months ago when she was working late and lost track of time. It wasn’t until a very sleep-ridden Jess picked up that she realized her mistake.

“Come on, Jess, where are you?” Lena asked nobody as she paced around her office. “This isn’t like you.”

Lena contemplated going to Jess’ house, but that seemed a tad too much and too drastic. Her secretary probably had a decent explanation for this. Maybe Jess overslept and forgot to charge her phone. She jumped up when the phone on her desk rang.

“Jesus,” Lena whispered. She really ought to relax more and stress less. Regaining her composure, she picked up. “Hello, this is Miss Luthor speaking.”

Lena smiled when she was informed it was Jess’ partner who was calling, though her smile vanished just as quickly when she learned Jess was ill and therefore wasn’t coming to work. The phone call should have happened earlier, but she let it slide. She wasn’t such a hardass and Jess was the kind of woman worth of cutting some slack.

“Alright, thanks for calling,” Lena said near the end of the call. “I hope she feels better soon. I’ll send chicken soup her way.”

Lena stepped out onto her balcony to get some fresh air, but the moment was abruptly cut short when birds fell from the sky. She gasped, slipping back inside of her office. It was all raven birds, dropping dead onto her balcony. How on earth did multiple birds die at the same time, dropping onto her balcony?

She glared up at her ceiling, as if to look through it, even though she couldn’t. She wondered if this was Reign’s doing, if she killed those poor birds and dropped them onto her balcony to make some sort of sick statement.

“You want me?” Lena asked sharply, opening a vault to retrieve weapons she personally crafted in her private lab. “Come get me, Reign.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sam knew Lena might have gone ballistic if she knew she went outside, but she needed to get outside for a while. While Lena’s loft was nice, she felt too much like a prisoner if she stayed indoors at all times. She wandered towards her daughter’s school. It was usually a nice area, but this time the atmosphere was different. There was a van parked outside the school, which gave her the creeps.

She was on edge when the door of the black van slid open, eyes widening when Alex jumped out. Okay, so the van belonged to the DEO. She wasn’t sure whether that was comforting or concerning, because why were they parked outside her daughter’s school?

Sam ducked inside the nearest alley when more agents jumped out of the van. She heard footsteps sprinting closer and a steady heartbeat. Her eyes resembled saucers when Alex approached with one gun in each hand in a way that said she was ready to shoot.

Alex tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowed. “…Sam?”

Sam felt like she got punched in the gut at the way Alex seemed to try and confirm whether it was her or Reign. “Do you always greet your friends by pointing weapons at them?” she asked, chuckling, though Alex might as well have pulled the trigger because it surely felt as if she got shot.

Sam knew Reign looked like her or was it the other way around? She wasn’t sure, didn’t know which one of them was the real, original her. But regardless of that, it really hurt one of her friends couldn’t tell without doubt she was Sam. The pure hatred she saw in Alex’s eyes before Alex asked if it was her was brief, but being looked at like she was a monster hurt more than words could say.

Alex lowered her weapons, but Sam didn’t miss how slow she was to lower them, as if she still wasn’t sure and just like that, it felt as if she got shot again.

“Sam,” Alex said with an audible sigh. “What are you doing outside? It’s not safe out here.”

Sam almost scoffed. If it wasn’t safe, Alex definitely shouldn’t be outside. Alex was in more danger than she was, considering Reign once broke Alex’s leg. That was something Reign couldn’t do to her, she was too strong for that.

“Reign might try to get her hands on you,” Alex whispered.

If that was the case, Sam doubted Lena’s loft was much safer than it was being outside. “Why are you here at Ruby’s school?”

“Protection in case Reign shows up,” Alex answered, shifting from one foot onto the other. She held up a hand when more agents spilled into the alley. “False alarm,” she called out over her shoulder.

Sam couldn’t play it off with another chuckle. It hurt too much being reminded they thought she was Reign. She was a monster and it seemed even one of her best friends saw her that way. “I should go get some rest,” she said, turning on her heel to leave.

A voice cut through Sam’s thoughts.

_“Come get me, Reign.”_

Sam shot up into the sky in a rush of panic. She didn’t want Reign to go after Lena, not ever. Much to her frustration, she didn’t get far when strong arms wrapped around her. She turned around with a scowl.

“Oh, Supergirl, it’s you,” Sam breathed out with a relieved sigh.

Supergirl looked Sam over, eying the jeans and shirt she had on.

Sam mentally prepared herself for being seen as Reign again.

“You shouldn’t be here, Sam,” Supergirl said, frowning. “I’ll look after Lena, I promise. She would kill me if you got hurt and I don’t want to be on Lena’s bad side.”

Sam managed a genuine chuckle at that. “Lena can be quite scary if you cross her,” she whispered, smiling. “I don’t want Reign anywhere near Lena. If she touches a single hair on my girl – my friend’s head…,” she grumbled, balling her fists.

“Wait,” Sam whispered with wide eyes. “I’m… I’m flying.”

“Flying feels amazing right?” Supergirl asked, smiling brightly. “Anyway, I should um…,” she said, gesturing vaguely towards L-Corp.

Sam stared intently at Supergirl. She recognized that smile and that chipper tone. “You’re Kara, aren’t you?” she asked, and wow okay, she just made Supergirl drop out of the sky. She flew after her, but Supergirl recovered before she could catch her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena wasn’t sleeping yet when she heard footsteps inside of her bedroom. She went to bed roughly an hour ago with a twinge of disappointment as Sam had slipped into the guestroom. Her bed dipped a little as someone slid under her covers. After Ruby had gone to sleep, she had a conversation with Sam, where she was told Sam heard her calling out to Reign. She hadn’t meant for Sam to hear and she wasn’t in danger because Reign didn’t show up.

“Lee,” Sam whispered, scooting a bit closer. “I know you’re awake.”

Lena turned onto her side, facing Sam. “Can’t sleep either, I take it?” she whispered, hyperaware of Sam’s hand caressing up and down the exposed skin on her arm. “You’d hear my heartbeat better if you would sleep onto my chest.”

“If that’s a suggestion, I might accept,” Sam replied, smiling. “Your chest beats a pillow any night.”

Lena chuckled quietly. This time she couldn’t call Sam a perv, because she brought this onto herself. “By all means, feel free to go for it,” she teased, feeling heat lick up her skin as Sam’s eyes gazed down at her chest.

“I have a feeling I’ll sleep just fine,” Sam whispered. She moved her hand higher, cupping Lena’s jaw.

Lena wasn’t sure if she was going to catch any sleep when a bombshell was right next to her. “Good night, Sam,” she whispered, shifting closer.

“Good night, Lee.”

Lena leaned in to kiss Sam’s cheek, but at the exact moment she leaned in, Sam turned her head. A tremor ran down her body as her lips touched Sam’s and she should have backed away immediately, but instead an embarrassing moan escaped her lips. Oh god, Sam’s lips were incredibly soft.

Sam’s arms wrapped around Lena, holding her close while she parted her lips, kissing Lena back as a fire ignited inside of her. She pushed Lena down onto the mattress, moaning when her tongue met Lena’s, dancing around it as their kiss deepened and grew more heated by the second. She knew Lena hadn’t meant to kiss her, but the fact Lena was kissing her with such passion made her swallow each of those delicious moans and encouraged her to keep going.

Lena squeezed Sam’s arms when she desperately needed to breathe. Sam quite literally took her breath away, in more ways than one. She lay underneath Sam, panting, smiling.

Sam’s heart did a summersault, seeing Lena so disheveled while all they had done was kiss. “I know you didn’t mean to kiss me on the lips, but I’m happy you did because I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while now.”

Lena’s cheeks darkened. “I’m happy you turned your head, because I’ve wanted to kiss you, too,” she confessed, tangling her fingers in Sam’s hair. “And right now, I really want to do that again.”

Sam wasted no time capturing Lena’s lips. Her heart was rampant in her chest while she thought about how much she wanted to run towards Lena at a beach somewhere in the future, in slow motion, and kiss her as if every kiss was going to be their last. She wanted to steal Lena’s breath away like a record stuck on repeat, sweet, kind, caring, genuine Lena who not even once made her feel like a monster.

Sam tasted like chocolate and mint, and Lena held her with the intention of never letting go. Sam meant so much to her, it sent her heart reeling and her mind spinning. “Sam,” she whispered, breathless, chuckling as Sam littered her neck with kisses. “Sam, slow down.” Her smile turned into a frown when she felt wetness against her skin. “Sam?”

Sam tried to avert her eyes, but Lena was cupping her cheeks and she was so, so gentle.

An invisible fist squeezed around Lena’s heart, seeing Sam cry. “Talk to me,” she whispered, kissing her tears away.

“I need…,” Sam whispered. Someone who didn’t make her feel like a monster, someone who loved her. “I need you,” she whispered, claiming Lena’s lips all over again.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Lena ran her fingers through Sam’s dark tresses, listening while Sam relayed what had happened, how Alex wasn’t certain whether she was Sam or Reign. It was really unfair Reign looked like Sam, but other than physical similarities, they were nothing alike. She knew Alex probably meant no harm, though she really wished the agent would have handed that differently because Sam got her feelings hurt.

“You and Ruby never look at me like that,” Sam whispered, sniffling. “I’m worried Ruby might look at me like that if she finds out the truth, if she knows what I have done.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong. That was all Reign,” Lena gently reminded her.

“What if being evil is in my blood?”

“Blood does not dictate who we are,” Lena whispered, which she as a Luthor proved. “I don’t believe for even a second you were born to be evil. You were born to be you and I happen to like you just the way you are.”

Sam sighed and grasped Lena’s free hand, entwining their fingers. “I could bruise you so easily, all it takes is a split second where I squeeze too hard,” she whispered, surprised Lena’s heart remained steady. “You trust me so much and it’s confusing.”

Lena trusted Sam with her life, no doubt. “I know you won’t hurt me. You’re the kind of person who stuffs her cheeks with popcorn and does silly voices to humor her daughter. Speaking of your daughter, you’ve been raising her all by yourself. You’re strong, you’re good and no matter what anyone ever says or does, nothing can make me see you as anything less than amazing.”

Sam pressed a kiss to Lena’s throat. “Your heart is racing,” she whispered, drinking in the sound.

“That’s not fair. You can’t do that and comment on what my heart sounds like.”

Sam shifted and ran her free hand down Lena’s side. She slipped her hand under Lena’s tank top, resting her palm on her stomach. “Like what?” she asked, kissing Lena’s cheek, hearing her breath hitch.

“Sam,” Lena whined quietly. “Don’t tease.”

Sam smiled cheekily. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she whispered, tracing random patterns on Lena’s stomach with the tip of her index finger.

“It’s sexually frustrating enough I have to keep myself from jumping your bones, so if you could quit teasing me, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Oh, so you’re sexually frustrated,” Sam noted, kissing Lena’s jaw, smiling when Lena whined again. “You’re thinking about jumping my bones right now?”

“Maybe,” Lena muttered, sighing because she could tell Sam was enjoying slowly torturing her.

Sam wanted to keep going, but she knew she had to take it easy. This was Lena and she wanted to do right by her. She didn’t want to make Lena feel as if she was out to have sex. No, sex could wait. She stopped teasing and wrapped Lena into her arms, careful not to use too much strength.

“Good night, Lee,” Sam whispered, kissing the top of her head.

Lena wriggled until she was facing Sam. “Can I kiss you good night?” she asked, smiling when Sam hummed. “Good night, waffles,” she whispered, leaning in for a kiss.

What was meant to be a peck turned into a deep kiss and Lena moaned when she felt Sam’s hands roaming down her body. She took Sam’s lower lip between her teeth, nibbling while Sam lifted her weight with ease and just like that, she was on top of Sam, sharing kiss after kiss.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey,” Alex said, biting her lip as she looked at Sam. “Can I come in for a bit?”

Sam shrugged and stepped away from the door, leaving it open. She heard Alex’s footsteps as the agent walked in after her.

“I want to apologize,” Alex said, taking a seat on the couch.

Sam was a little bit surprised Alex was here for that reason, though she was willing to give Alex a chance. The fact Alex wasn’t sure if she was Sam or Reign when she appeared near her daughter’s school was hurtful, but she thought about it and for Ruby’s sake, it was a good thing Alex made sure. Her daughter’s safety and well-being was imperative.

“I’m sorry for how I raised my weapons at you. It must have come across quite bad and I shouldn’t have hesitated,” Alex said, wringing her hands together. “You’re my best friend. I care about you and I don’t want to hurt you. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“It did hurt,” Sam admitted, but at the same time she didn’t want Alex to feel bad about it. She scooted closer and carefully rested a hand on top of Alex’s. “Ever since I’ve been separated from Reign and learned the truth, I’ve felt like I’m a monster. I keep hearing about the things Reign has done and I can’t stop thinking it was my fault.”

“Hey,” Alex whispered, squeezing Sam’s hand. “What Reign did wasn’t your fault. You’re not like her, you’re Sam.”

Logically, Sam knew Alex was right, just as Lena was right, but the guilt was there all the same. “When you had your weapons raised at me, you had this certain look in your eyes I had never seen directed towards me before.”

“I know,” Alex sighed. “I truly am sorry, Sam. It’s not my intention to hurt you. I want to help you in any way I can.”

“You do help me,” Sam said, offering Alex a small smile. “You’ve been keeping an eye on Ruby and that means a lot to me. What happened is in the past now, I forgive you.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena twirled her pen between her fingers while she kept her right hand balled into a fist. Her mind was all over the place. She was thinking about Sam, about how much they kissed, wondering what was going to happen next. She sincerely hoped she didn’t destroy their friendship, although she wanted to be more than friends. It didn’t matter that there was a bit of an age gap between them. The gap wasn’t that big and okay yes, Sam had a teenage daughter, but it was impossible to love Sam without loving Ruby too.

Her jaw tensed as she thought back to the phone call she received earlier today. Her secretary had gotten so ill she died. Apparently it wasn’t some kind of cold or the flu. The news mentioned multiple victims had caved in to an illness, which appeared to be a new aggressive form of the flu, or at least that was what they thought it was. They were talking about a possible quarantine and the possibility of an oncoming pandemic.

She couldn’t believe Jess was no more. In the past her secretary hadn’t taken so much as a single sick day, which was a major red flag to how serious this was. She wished she had done more than send soup. It seemed so pathetic now, such a decent, loyal secretary on whose discretion she could always count and she hadn’t even reached out to her.

A new broadcast on the news caught her attention. There was live footage of Supergirl fighting Purity. Next thing Lena knew, her door was kicked in by Reign. She put her pen down and stood, circling around her desk.

Reign was in front of Lena in an instant.

“Reign, how unpleasant seeing you here,” Lena said icily. “My door has a doorknob, you know?”

Reign lifted Lena off the floor, a fist tangled in Lena’s blouse. “I can feel it,” she said, emotionless as she raised Lena higher.

“Feel what?”

“Her love for you,” Reign answered, eyes burning red. “It is disgusting.”

“Love isn’t disgusting,” Lena replied, sighing because of course Reign said something like that.

“Love is weak. Her love for her little brat and for you has always been a thorn in my eye, but not anymore. You made sure of that.”

Lena twisted and twisted, to no avail. Reign’s grip on her wasn’t easing up. “What do you want from me?” she asked, the question that had puzzled her since Reign stated she wanted her.

The smile on Reign’s face wasn’t really a smile. It was something twisted, dark and evil. “Why are you special to her?” she whispered, observing Lena. “You are human, you break.”

“Physically I might break easily, but mentally you can’t break me,” Lena said, giving Reign a dark smile of her own. “You think you’re vicious? Oh honey, get in line. I grew up as a Luthor, you’re no scarier than the skeletons hanging in my closet.”

“Brave words for someone who is bound to die,” Reign replied, tone menacing and taunting. “You do not fear me, why?”

Lena uncurled her fingers from her right hand which had been balled into a fist. She blew the kryptonite dust at Reign and within a second, Reign dropped her and the worldkiller was coughing like she was about to cough up her lungs.

Reign dropped to her knees and when Lena kicked her foot against her shoulder, she fell onto her back.

“Gold and green kryptonite, high doses pressed together and crushed into dust,” Lena said off-handedly. She retrieved cuffs she specifically designed for Reign and slapped them around her wrists.

Reign dropped in and out of consciousness. “Where are you taking me, you filthy human?” she hissed, gritting her teeth while Lena pushed the wheelchair she had placed Reign into.

It took some lifting, but Reign was slender and Lena had just enough strength in her arms. The doors of the elevator swooshed open.

“I’m going to take you somewhere where I can ensure you’ll never get your powers back and you’ll never be free again,” Lena answered, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “I almost feel sorry for doing this to you, but you’re a weapon and I’m not going to watch you burn the world along with the people I love in it.”

Reign’s eyes changed. An almost solemn look took over. “Where are your morals, human?”

Lena said nothing as she touched a panel to open a new cell she designed for Reign, a cell where she was going to be exposed to green and gold kryptonite at all times, enough to make Reign human, or well, something that resembled humans at least. She did her best to make Reign’s cell look homey. It had a real bed, books, videogames and pictures of cute animals.

Reign trashed the cell, crawling onto her knees as she shred the pictures, even using her teeth. “Does she truly love you, Lee?”

Lena froze at Reign uttering the nickname Sam always spoke with fondness. Hearing Reign say it with such hatred enraged her enough to enter her cell. “How _dare_ you?” she hissed, reaching out to choke Reign, but her hand stilled before she could even touch her. It stung how much Reign looked like Sam, even though she knew Reign was nothing like the woman she loved.

Reign looked so small, so fragile. The worldkiller was barely able to stand due to the kryptonite. “Sam is indeed not a monster,” she said and Lena was surprised hearing Reign say that. “You are. Your mother must be proud.”

 


	11. Chapter 11

Sam sat down on the couch with her daughter to talk. Ruby just got home from school and was dropped off by Lena’s driver. She had been thinking about how to go at this all day, but she still wasn’t sure about the right approach, if there even was such a thing as the right approach.

“How was school, Rubes?”

Ruby shrugged a shoulder. “Same as usual,” she answered with a sigh. “Some parts were boring, but I learned some new stuff and someone brought cake to class, so overall it wasn’t bad.”

“There is something I want to talk about,” Sam said, cutting to the chase. “What do you think about Lena?”

“I like her, she’s really nice,” Ruby answered, smiling. “She knows which things I like and remembers them. It’s so cool when she drops me off at school with her limousine and the kids at school think her driver is my driver. The kids from my class have been asking me questions and they want to catch rides with me and stuff.”

Sam smiled while her daughter continued to gush. She knew Ruby was quite excited about the limousine rides. Lena spoiled her daughter too much sometimes, though it was sweet she did. She could tell Lena cared about Ruby and that meant the world to her.

“I like Lena too,” Sam said once her daughter fell silent. “Quite a lot actually.”

“I can tell. You’re always smiling at her, mom.”

Sam knew that was true and she wasn’t surprised her daughter noticed. She hadn’t exactly hid it or even tried to hide it. “How would you feel about the possibility of me dating someone?”

“Really?” Ruby asked, gasping, but then smiling. “You’re going to date Lena? That’s amazing, mom! Did you kiss her yet? You should definitely kiss her.”

Sam chuckled. She considered telling her daughter not to jump that far yet, although she already kissed Lena, so there was that. “I take it you approve then,” she said, very much relieved Ruby was accepting her wanting to date Lena, encouraging her to even.

“Duh,” Ruby replied, laughing. “I want you to be happy, mom, and Lena makes you happy. When you’re sad, she makes you feel better.”

“Yeah, she makes me happy,” Sam admitted with a content sigh. “And so do you,” she added, wrapping her arms around her daughter, tickling her sides.

“Noooo,” Ruby shrieked. “Mom, stop! That’s not fair, you know I’m ticklish.”

Sam pretended she was going to eat Ruby. “I love you so much,” she said, peppering her cheeks with kisses.

“Gross, mom,” Ruby whined, wiping at her cheeks, though she was smiling. “I love you, too. Forever and ever.”

“Forever and ever, hm?” Sam asked, holding her daughter into her arms. “Someday you might hear things about me that might make you love me less.”

“That’s impossible. You’ve loved me even before I was born. Nothing can make me stop loving you, mom. It doesn’t matter what the news shows, that wasn’t you.”

Sam’s eyes fell. Her daughter knew and it was entirely unexpected. All this time she thought Ruby was blissfully unaware of the fact she was Reign, before Lena helped her.

“You’re always going to be a hero in my eyes,” Ruby said, smiling, flinging her arms around her mother’s neck. “Supermom.”

“My sweet Ruby,” Sam whispered, caressing her daughter’s back. “You are the best thing I have ever done in my life.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Alex was tired as she opened her eyes, but she opened them nonetheless, just to catch a glimpse of Maggie. The tears in Maggie’s eyes hurt a lot more than the fact her body was burning up from the inside out.

“Dammit, Danvers,” Maggie said, grasping one of Alex’s ashen hands, squeezing softly. “You don’t get to die on me, you hear me? You’re a fighter, a survivor. You lived when you were drowning in that tank and you’re going to live through this, too. You’re going to fight because you’re a badass.”

Alex’s tongue felt thick in her mouth. She was at the hospital, had been since this morning when she got extremely unwell quite fast. The news spoke of a possible flu, but she knew better. This was the work of the third worldkiller, making people ill to the point where they died. There were times where she had the flu or another illness, but this felt different. This felt like dying and she knew it was because she was literally dying.

“I love you so much, Alex,” Maggie said as tears streamed down her face. “Ride or die, I still mean that, I always have and always will.”

Alex smiled weakly, barely mustering the energy. She was so tired, but she was scared going to sleep might result in not waking up ever again. “Ride or die,” she said, voice hoarse. She wasn’t surprised the hospital phoned Maggie, considering she asked them to.

“You are going to get better,” Maggie said, but Alex knew she wasn’t going to come back from this.

“Remember all those firsts we used to talk about?” Maggie asked with a pained smile. “I still want those firsts with you, Alex. When you’re better, we can build a life together, for real this time. I know you want a child and I’ve been so stubborn. I want a child with you, but you need to get better first, so keep fighting, okay?”

Alex’s eyes grew watery. If it wasn’t for how little energy she had, she would be sobbing right now. She wanted all those firsts with Maggie too, wanted to marry her and start a family, but it was too late.

“Why does one of us have to be dying for us to get our heads out of our ass?” Maggie commented, chuckling, wiping her tears away with her free hand. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against Alex’s lips. “If anyone can fight this, it’s you. You’ve got so much to live for.”

Alex’s body ached while tears slid down her cheeks. She wanted to hold on for as long as she could. There was so much left to say and only such little time. “Maggie,” she whispered, tugging at her hand. “I want you to be happy. When I’m gone-”

“No,” Maggie said firmly, eyes full of tears. “No,” she repeated, shaking her head. “This is not how you die. You’re Alex Danvers, a badass agent. This is not how your story ends.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena took a bite from the dinner Sam prepared for her. She generally wasn’t quick to eat lasagna, but Ruby loved it and Ruby mentioned her mother made the best lasagna in existence, so of course she had to try it.

“Oh my god,” Lena moaned, and she wasn’t even faking it. Sam’s lasagna was absolutely divine. “You have to tell me your secret.”

Sam chuckled. “Never,” she replied, lifting her own fork to her mouth.

“Lena,” Ruby said, smiling, swinging her legs back and forth. “Are you going to date my mom?”

Lena nearly choked on her lasagna. “How so?” she asked, glancing at Sam, who seemed to have a sudden interest in emptying her glass of water.

“Because you like her and she likes you,” Ruby answered simply.

“Oh?” Lena replied, raising an eyebrow at Sam.

Sam raised an eyebrow right back at Lena.

“I do like your mother,” Lena admitted aloud. “Is that alright with you?”

“Yeah!” Ruby answered, grinning from ear to ear.

“Okay, that’s… that’s good,” Lena said, breathing out in relief.

Sam half regretted she didn’t warn Lena she spoke with Ruby earlier, but she had no idea her daughter was going to blurt all of this out. She hardly dated anyone ever since Ruby came into her life. It was always the two of them and she had yet to learn how to navigate adding a third person. It was important her daughter was okay with it, because this was a big impact on both their lives.

“I like your place better than my mom’s anyway,” Ruby said to Lena. “And you have a limousine! You’re really cool, too.”

“Cool,” Lena repeated, smiling. “I’m cool,” she said to Sam.

“It doesn’t count when you say it,” Sam replied, smiling back. “I agree though. You are cool, sometimes.”

Lena guffawed. “Sometimes?” she asked, and oh Sam just wait until they were alone.

Sam sucked her lips into her mouth to stifle a laugh when Lena dropped some of the lasagna onto her blouse. How smooth, now Lena was going to have to take it off soon, preferably right in front of her.

Lena held her breath when Sam dabbed a napkin at her blouse. “How helpful of you,” she whispered, knowing Sam better.

“Anytime,” Sam said, just loud enough for Lena to hear. She dabbed generously near Lena’s chest, smiling when Lena very quietly called her a pervert, but it was said with so much mirth she knew Lena was enjoying this, too.

“I see even your clothes like my food,” Sam jested.

“It’s quite tasty and I’d like to taste more of you,” Lena said with no shame whatsoever. “Of the food you cook,” she added, too slow to be really convincing.

Sam leaned closer, dabbing a napkin at Lena’s chin purely so she could gaze into her eyes up close. “That can be arranged,” she whispered, her lips nearly touching Lena’s.

Lena spluttered by the time Sam backed away.

Ruby was occupied scooping more lasagna onto her plate, every now and then chancing a knowing smile in their direction. She seemed to eat their interactions up more than the food.

Lena was surprised Sam dared step onto such thin ice when her daughter was sitting at the table with them. It was exhilarating and she knew without a doubt Sam could tell because her heartbeat sold her out. Her body reacted to Sam and it gave Sam an unfair advantage.

“Don’t forget to save room for dessert,” Sam said, staring intently at Lena, winking at her.

Lena wrapped her fingers around her glass and downed it, feeling particularly parched. It had nothing to do with Sam devouring her with her eyes and announcing dessert like some sort of promise for what – _who_ – was yet to come. Nope, it definitely had nothing to do with that, at all.

 


	12. Chapter 12

“Sam,” Lena whispered, distracted by Sam caressing her hand up and down her arm. They were in her bed together, facing one another. “We should talk.”

“Mhmm,” Sam hummed, fingers stilling.

“What are we?”

“I doubt that’s your real question, Lee,” Sam answered in a whisper. She brushed a lock of Lena’s hair behind her ear and ran her finger down her jaw. “I think your real question is what I want us to be.”

“If you want to be nitpicky, sure,” Lena confirmed, smiling.

Sam had a clear reason why she spoke with her daughter about Lena and now that she knew Ruby more than approved, she wanted to risk more than friendship with Lena. There was something between them she couldn’t deny, something real.

Lena considered bluntly asking Sam if she wanted to be her girlfriend, but she worried it was odd to ask.

“I want to let what we have become something more,” Sam whispered, running her thumb over Lena’s knuckles. “If you want this, too, we can try our hand at a relationship.”

It was what Lena wanted, but hearing Sam say it made her gasp nonetheless.

Sam lost a bit of her courage, though she didn’t let go of Lena’s hand. “I should have discussed this more with you before I talked to Ruby,” she sighed.

“Yes,” Lena whispered. “No,” she corrected, sighing. “I do want to have a relationship with you, Sam.”

“You had me worried for a moment,” Sam said, smiling while she leaned in, nudging Lena’s nose with hers. “I’m a package deal, I have Ruby and I might want a second child someday.”

“I know,” Lena replied, shifting until she was on top of Sam, awed that she met no resistance. “I want this, you, Ruby, the whole package. I know it may seem like a lot, but I’m sure about you, us.”

Sam watched as Lena’s hair fell and tickled her face. She couldn’t believe she got so lucky she could call this sweet angel hers. For the first time in a long time, she believed she could be happy with someone and had a chance of getting married someday. Maybe she was thinking too far ahead, but she couldn’t help but see a future with Lena.

“What if,” Sam whispered, combing a hand through Lena’s hair, “I want a second child say three years from now, but don’t feel like going through pregnancy.”

In the past Lena might have gotten cold feet if someone spoke of three years into the future, but this was Sam and Sam wasn’t just someone. She was down for this commitment, down to make it work.

“Hm, well in that case we can adopt a child or you can ensure I don’t feel fat or less attractive if I get pregnant,” Lena answered, happy when a bright smile graced Sam’s lips.

Sam surged up, pressing her lips firmly against Lena’s, whose answer couldn’t have been more perfect. She never thought she deserved this kind of happiness, especially not after the whole Reign situation, but she wanted to believe she deserved it. Moreover, she wanted to make Lena happy, because nobody deserved it more than Lena did.

Lena moaned when Sam took her lower lip between her teeth. “Oh…,” she whispered, closing her eyes while Sam kissed her neck. “That feels good, don’t stop.”

Sam slid a hand between Lena’s shoulder blades and slowly switched their positions, leaving Lena underneath her. “Now this is what I like,” she husked, watching Lena’s raven locks cascade around the pillow. “You’re divine, Lee.”

“I’m not,” Lena replied, blushing furiously.

“Divine,” Sam murmured, kissing Lena’s jaw.

Lena shuddered when Sam claimed her lips. The pressure was just right, but she found herself wanting more, so she parted her lips, quietly begging for more. She wasn’t quick to beg, but for Sam she was willing to beg in any and every language.

“You’re my girlfriend,” Lena whispered in between kisses.

“Yes,” Sam whispered, pecking Lena’s lips. “I am,” she said, capturing Lena’s lips, deepening their kiss.

Lena’s hands found purchase in Sam’s hair. She was getting more turned on by the second as her tongue explored every crevice of Sam’s mouth and oh fuck, this was really happening. Her best friend was her girlfriend now and they were kissing.

Sam fisted a pillow when Lena moaned into her mouth. She wanted Lena so bad the pillow didn’t survive her hold. It was a wakeup call for her to slow down and get a grip.

Lena sat up, frowning as Sam scrambled away. “Sam?”

“My strength,” Sam said, sighing. “I can’t hurt you,” she whispered, fingers trembling while she reached out to brush Lena’s hair. “I don’t have enough self-control. If I had held on to you instead of the pillow, you would have gotten hurt, because of me, because of what I am.”

“You’re my girlfriend and you’re amazing,” Lena replied, sitting closer next to Sam. “I trust you. We can go as slow as you need us to go, I’m not going anywhere.”

Sam slowly breathed out, resting her forehead against Lena’s. “Slow,” she whispered, gently pushing Lena down onto the mattress, bracketing her hips. Her lungs were on fire as she kissed Lena.

Lena moaned when Sam’s hands began to wander. “I think we have different definitions of slow,” she whispered, chuckling.

“Tell me to stop,” Sam said, nipping at Lena’s neck.

Lena craned her neck to give Sam more access. “Not a chance,” she replied, raking her nails down Sam’s back. “If you’re sure about this, then I don’t want you to stop.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sam rushed into the hospital with Lena. Her heart was pounding in her chest. They came here as quickly as possible when they received the news through a text from Kara. It had been a hectic day, but at least they also received positive news, namely that the DEO had successfully captured Purity, though they were still looking for the other two worldkillers.

Lena knew why the DEO failed to locate Reign, of course, but at least Reign wasn’t going to be a problem anymore. She hoped they weren’t going to let Purity escape again and hoped the last worldkiller would be captured soon as well.

“Alex,” Sam said, bursting inside her room. She gasped and brought a hand up to cover her mouth, seeing how ghostly pale her best friend looked. “Oh, Alex,” she whispered, tearing up.

Lena fished around in her pocket for something she brought with her. “May I have your permission to take a sample of your blood?” she asked Alex. “Blink your eyes twice for yes.”

Alex frowned, but then she blinked her eyes twice.

“I’m going to find a cure and make you better,” Lena said while she extracted some of Alex’s blood. “You’re my friend and I’ll be damned if I let you die on some hospital bed. Give me twenty-four hours.”

Alex’s heartbeat was barely there, but she was fighting. “Twenty-four…,” she breathed out, wheezing. “You’re not…sleep….”

Lena gave Alex a serious look. Of course she wasn’t going to sleep until she finished a damn cure. She split Reign from Sam, trapped Reign and made a virus inert before, among other things. “I’m a Luthor, being stubborn is in my nature,” she said with a reassuring smile. “You’re going to be okay, Alex.”

“Pro-promise me,” Alex rasped, eyes flitting between Sam and Lena. “Be th-there…for… Kara.”

“Shh, save your strength,” Sam said, enveloping one of Alex’s hands in both of hers.

“We will be there for Kara,” Lena assured Alex. “But you’re not going to die. You better not give up, or I’ll find a way to revive you and I’ll kick your ass.”

Alex chuckled, but her chuckle turned into a cough.

Lena’s eyes were wet with tears, but she was trying to be strong for her girlfriend and her best friend. She was going to set things right, find a way to heal Alex and every other victim the third worldkiller had made. Alex wasn’t going to die on her watch. That was unacceptable.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sam’s eyes were saucers when Lena flicked on the lights in the lab. Her curiosity as to why Lena took her here was promptly answered by the sight of the cell, more particularly by the person in it. This explained why Reign suddenly went up in smoke.

“You did it?” she said, clearing her throat when she heard that sounded like a question. “You did it, you trapped her.”

“Yes, she took the bait,” Lena said, and while she had liked to trap Reign sooner, at least she had her tripped now and this time she wasn’t going to make the mistake of handing her over to the DEO, which would merely result in them letting her escape again somehow.

Reign stood, palms flattened against the force field of her cell. “You cannot keep me in here forever.”

Sam noticed Reign was wobbly on her legs, barely holding herself up and her pulse was weak for a worldkiller. “I hope she’s not in too much pain,” she found herself saying.

Lena was perplexed by Sam’s sincere statement, which proved how good Sam was.

“She’s a worldkiller and the things she did are monstrous, but…,” Sam trailed off, sighing. She didn’t want to feel any sympathy for Reign, but despite everything that happened a part of her didn’t want Reign to suffer too much.

“I know,” Lena whispered. It wasn’t some light decision she made on a whim, no, this was a necessary means to an end. “I tried to make her cell comfortable and warm, but it’s not making a difference for her. She stomped on the games I gave her, tore pages from books and ripped the cute animal pictures to shreds.”

“Lights and flowers,” Sam mumbled.

“Pardon?”

“We shouldn’t leave her in the dark and we should give her some flowers,” Sam said, watching Reign who was staring at her. Despite the fact Lena split them, she felt as if a piece of her was still connected to Reign, enough to find herself caring. “She used to be in the dark in an eerie place and she was...,” she explained, before adding in a whisper, “alone.”

Lena frowned. “How do you know this?”

Sam shook her head. “I just do,” she breathed out.

Lena nodded, making a mental note to arrange flowers, though Reign was most likely going to ruin them anyway. She placed her hands on Sam’s arms, standing on the tips of her toes to press her lips against Sam’s. “I was hoping we could hatch out a plan together while I work on a cure to heal those who have fallen ill.”

“Sounds good, Lee,” Sam whispered, tipping her head down to lock their lips once more.

Sam was acutely aware of the fact Reign was observing them, but it didn’t matter, she wasn’t going to hide the feelings she had for Lena.

 


	13. Chapter 13

Lena held her breath as she was being lifted up. Her heart was racing, but not out of fear for her own life.

“You and those pesky agents think you are clever, but you’re not.”

“We may surprise you, Reign,” Lena replied with a daring smile. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Sister, let us finish this,” Pestilence, the last worldkiller spoke.

Lena watched as the hand that wasn’t holding her raised to silence Pestilence.

“You will live, for now,” Sam said, tone dripping with venom as she set Lena down, rougher than she wanted to. “You get to watch everyone you care about burn.”

Lena was mildly turned on by the authority that dripped off of Sam, but that was a conversation for another day. The fear she felt overruled her arousal. It was Sam’s idea for her to wear Reign’s suit and pretend she was Reign. She hated the idea, but she let her because it was a brilliant plan, albeit a crazy one. So far Sam was getting away with it. Pestilence showed up, as planned and she really hoped everything else would go according to plan as well.

Sam tangled her fist in Lena’s blouse. She considered striking her to avoid appearing weak, but she couldn’t do it. Instead she dropped Lena and flew over to Supergirl, striking her instead, knowing that at least she could take it.

Lena had to force her mouth shut when Kara fought back. She didn’t want Sam to get hurt. In the end Kara wound up with a nosebleed and she wondered if she should have said no to this insane plan all along.

“Champion of earth?” Sam scoffed at Supergirl. “I don’t think so.”

Sam turned to look at Pestilence. “It is time to get our sister, to be reunited for once and all,” she said sharply, nodding her head once.

Pestilence attacked the nearby agents, making them all sick.

Lena held her breath, but she was very close to a cure. All she needed was some of Pestilence’s blood. It was the final key to finish the cure and once it was finished, she intended to distribute it for free.

“I wonder what Samantha sees in you,” Sam said icily to Lena, lifting her once more.

Lena’s breath caught when Sam kissed her. Oh fuck, she was definitely turned on now. Sam had some nerve kissing her right now, amidst an ongoing battle. She could tell by the way Sam ran her tongue across her lips that she had really wanted to kiss her. She didn’t get the chance to reciprocate, Sam pulled away too quickly.

Sam felt adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her nostrils flared when one of the agents shot a kryptonite dart at her, but it never struck because Lena got in her path.

Pestilence tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at Lena.

“What do you know, humans might be good for something after all,” Sam said, tossing Lena over her shoulder. “I may keep my human shield, for now. If anyone follows us, this human will pay the price,” she warned the DEO and Supergirl.

Lena wasn’t hurt, other than the fact the needle pierced her skin near her shoulder and made her bleed a little due to the force with which it had been fired.

Sam headed towards the DEO, followed by Pestilence. She walked Pestilence right into a trap she set up with Lena yesterday while the DEO thought she was there to train.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked Lena, carrying her towards the medical bay.

“It’s just a scratch, I’ll live,” Lena answered, smiling. “Now, about that kiss…,” she trailed off, pursing her lips, smiling again as Sam claimed her lips.

Sam lost herself into their kiss for a while, before she caught herself, remembering why they were here. She gently put Lena down so she could wrap up that cure.

“Julia and Grace,” Lena whispered, intending to save them just as she saved Sam from Reign. She stored some black kryptonite to split them, though she hadn’t discussed any of this with the DEO, not that she had to. Julia and Grace were innocent humans who had fallen prey to Purity and Pestilence, and she was going to save them.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Alex slowly opened her eyes. She felt as if someone dosed her up with extra sugar. Her energy was back, so much so she was ready to jump out of bed and get back to work.

“Easy, Danvers,” Maggie said, placing her hands on Alex’s shoulders. “You need to rest a bit longer, doctor’s advice.”

Alex sat up anyway, but she did stay in bed. “You’re here,” she said, smiling at Maggie. She was happy Maggie was the first face she saw now that she felt so much better. It was as if she was never ill to begin with, it almost felt surreal it happened.

“Yeah, right by your side is the only place where I ever want to be,” Maggie replied, tearing up. She pressed her lips to Alex’s for a moment and pulled something out of her pocket. “I’m all in this time. I want a family with you, I really do. I’m not going to let what ifs or the past scare me. Alex Danvers, will you marry me?”

Alex felt tears escape her. She was so choked up for words, she only managed a nod. Tears streamed down her cheeks while Maggie slipped a ring around her finger. This time she wasn’t going to let Maggie go. She was going to do this right.

“Awww,” voices around Alex cooed.

Kara had a broad smile on her face.

Lena yelped out of surprise when Kara just about crushed her in a big hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Kara chanted before letting go of Lena. “You saved my sister’s life.”

“Oh, it was-”

“If you dare say it was nothing I’m going to get up and kick your ass,” Alex said to Lena, laughing. “I have a second chance now,” she said, entwining her fingers with Maggie’s.

“Ditto,” Maggie chimed in, kissing Alex’s knuckles. She gave Lena an approving nod, a grateful one.

“I’m glad to see you returning to the land of the living,” Sam said to Alex, resting her hand on the small of Lena’s back.

Lena blushed when they all looked at Sam and her with a knowing smile. She leaned a little into Sam’s side, happy that this was her life.

“It feels good to be back,” Alex said, stretching her arms. “I guess life isn’t done with me yet.”

“Not by a long shot, Danvers,” Maggie said, sitting down next to Alex.

“I’m so happy for you two,” Kara squealed. “And for you two as well,” she said to Sam and Lena. “By the way, I um… have something to share. Remember how I’ve been interacting with Imra more since she divorced Mon-El?”

“Oh my god,” Alex whispered, gasping. “I knew it, you’re dating-”

“I’m not back together with Mon-El,” Kara said, making a face.

“-Imra,” Alex finished with a smile, smiling more when Kara guiltily looked away. “Aha! You’re dating Imra.”

“Oh Rao, yes, I’m dating Imra, you don’t have to shout it, Alex,” Kara replied with a chuckle.

“Okay, so…,” Maggie said. “You dated Mon-El…then Imra married him, then you were both single and now you’re dating Imra?” she asked, grinning. “Talk about a glow up.”

“I’d drink to that,” Lena agreed, definitely finding that a glow up as well and not only because Imra was a woman, though that did help.

“Imra and I knew we deserved something real and something good, and then it kind of clicked everything we needed was right in front of us,” Kara shared with a smile. “We’re going to take it slow, but we do want to get married someday.”

“Ah yes, the definition of slow,” Sam said with a cheeky smile.

“Said the expert on taking things slow,” Lena said to Sam, nudging her side. “Your definition of slow is quite interesting.”

Sam averted her eyes. “I know nothing,” she said, smiling while Lena kissed her cheek.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Ruby ran through the garden of the large mansion Lena and Sam had bought. It felt like only yesterday since they moved, but in fact it had been a year.

“No, no, no!” Ruby laughed, holding up her hands while she got attacked with a water gun anyway. “I will get you for that, Lucas!”

Lena smiled as she watched Ruby chase after her brother. Two months ago, Sam and she adopted Lucas. He was four years old and he was quite sneaky, but his cuteness always got him off the hook. Lucas’ hair was a mop of brown, unruly curls that flopped as he ran on his little legs.

“Ah,” Sam whispered, snaking her arms around Lena’s waist. “Now this is what I call living,” she said, pressing her lips to Lena’s.

Lena hummed and wound her arms around Sam’s neck, standing on her toes in the grass while she kissed her back. In the background she heard their children squealing while they splashed water at each other.

“I’ll be right back,” Sam whispered, peeling herself away from Lena.

“Be careful.”

“I always am,” Sam assured Lena, turning around to go inside. She went upstairs and walked all the way to the end of the hall, using her special key to open the door of the room that was always locked.

The room smelled like lavender. The walls were a soft green with flower patterns painted on them. In the middle of the room was a cell. It wasn’t visible it was a cell, unless the force field was touched. The cell had its own backup generator, in case of a power outage.

Sam lowered the force field, smiling at Reign’s widened eyes as she entered her cell. “How are you feeling?”

Reign clenched her jaw. “Annoyed,” she answered, looking away from Sam. “We could have had it all. You could have surrendered to me.”

“I already have it all,” Sam replied, not needing more than Lena, Ruby and Lucas, and the friends she had. “You want power, but at the end of day, what does power get you? Don’t you want love, a family?”

“Purity and Pestilence are my sisters.”

“Yes, you’re right, you do have sisters,” Sam corrected herself. “Do you miss them?”

“No,” Reign scoffed. “I do not need anyone.”

Sam didn’t quite believe that, but at least she wasn’t met by silence or pure rage this time. “I used to think redemption wasn’t possible. I didn’t trust myself, but Lena helped me. Thanks to her, I learned to trust myself again and I know I’m worthy of redemption. She believed in me and you’re here because I believe in you.”

“You’re delusional if you think you can change me.”

“I don’t think I can change you. It’s hope, I hope that one day, I can reach you because there has to be a light in you somewhere,” Sam said with a tentative smile. “You didn’t create yourself, a worldkiller isn’t who you have to be. I’ve seen the way you’ve looked at flowers. Perhaps you want to be a florist, just a thought.”

“I am a god,” Reign snapped while she stood, towering above Sam who was sitting cross-legged. “You threw everything away for humans.”

Sam moved to stand up. “I’m planning on buying more flowers soon,” she announced casually. “Do you want plumerias or something else?”

Reign muttered and tossed a book at the door, eyes widening as if she couldn’t believe Sam truly lowered the force field. Reign had no powers left while Sam did, so Sam knew Reign wasn’t going to try any funny business.

“Roses,” Reign answered after a long pause. “They have thorns, but the pain is worth its beauty.”

“Okay, I’ll get you some roses,” Sam promised. Every time she went to get roses for Reign, she told the florist to leave the thorns as they were, because she knew Reign preferred her roses with their thorns still attached. “I meant what I said, Reign, I believe in you,” she said, raising the force field again as she stepped out of the perimeter of the cell.

“You are naïve. Being a worldkiller is my nature, it is the essence of my being. I shall never put down my morals to bend down to yours.”

“Why leave a path of death and destruction when you can plant and grow life?”

Sam left the room, leaving Reign to her thoughts while she wandered back outside. Her heart warmed as she observed Lena chasing after their children in the garden. She had no idea what the future held, but it looked promising. This was real, this was happiness and thanks to her family, she no longer felt so torn.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a wrap. I hope those who read it enjoyed it. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated. :)


End file.
